Dirk Nowitzki stuns the Oklahoma City Thunder; Dallas Mavericks win 112-105 in O.T. (Part-1)
The Dallas Mavericks took total control of the Western Conference Finals tonight with a superb ‘come from behind’ victory over the Oklahoma City (OKC) Thunder in overtime. Dallas, who trailed for much of the game, rallied behind Dirk Nowitzki late in the fourth, to force overtime and then secured a 112 – 105 win and a 3-1 series lead.
Nowitzki’s late charge broke the hearts of a sellout Oklahoma City Arena crowd as he helped the Mavs snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Nowitzki was terrific for the Mavericks once again, raking in a game high 40 points on a 12-of-20 shooting. Dirk was also 2-of-3 from downtown and made 14 of his 15 free throws. The 7-foot German machine also grabbed 5 boards and had three assists.
Jason Terry came off the bench to once again make a telling contribution in the game. Terry scored 20 points, providing the second most effective offensive outlet for Dallas and also stole the ball three times. Jason Kidd also had a good night with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists.
Oklahoma City spread out the scoring, with 5 players reaching double figures on the night. Kevin Durant led the way once again for the Thunder with team high 29 points and game high 15 rebounds. He did however have 9 turnovers. Serge Ibaka also had a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards while blocking an astonishing 5 shots. Russell Westbrook was a little wasteful with his shooting as he made 7-of-22 for his 19 points. However, he did make up with 8 assists and the same number of rebounds.
OKC’s coach Scott Brooks was distraught at losing a game his team had dominated right from the start. He admitted after the game that the home loss after leading for the vast majority really hurt his team, "There's no doubt it was a tough loss," Scott Brooks said. "If this loss did not hurt, there's no such thing as a loss that can hurt you."
OKC started off on the front foot, going 10-2 inside the first 3 minutes. The Thunder led throughout the quarter afterwards and never looked troubled by the Mavs. Kevin Durant was particularly hot early on as he went 5-of-6 from the field for his 10 points in the first quarter. Nick Collison’s layup with just 1:45 remaining stretched the lead to quarter high 12 points, but Dallas closed it down by three on the next possession to end the period at 31 – 22.
The next quarter saw the Mavericks bring the lead further down thanks mainly to Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki had a perfect quarter as he scored 17 points, making 5-of-5 from the field, 1-of-1 from beyond the arc and 6-of-6 from the line. The Thunder defence didn’t have any answer for the big German so they turned instead to their offence. OKC kept hitting Dallas back in the second quarter to offset the Mavs 32 points with 28 of their own, never relinquishing the lead in the process. They went into halftime with a five point lead at 59 – 54.
Tags: