James Harden scores 15 points in the fourth quarter to help Oklahoma City Thunder sweep the series against the Dallas Mavericks
James Harden scored 15 of his points in the final quarter of Game 4 to help the Oklahoma City Thunder sweep past the defending NBA Champions Dallas Mavericks 103-97 on Saturday night at the American Airlines Center here in Dallas,
Texas.
Harden finished the game off with 29 points which included 3 triples, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Kevin Durant signed off with 24 points on a 9 off 18 shooting night with 11 rebounds while Russell Westbrook ended with 12 points.
Serge Ibaka who got fouled out in the game managed 10 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Derek Fisher came off the bench to contribute 12 points; however the down part of this series clinching win was the right hip injury to Kendrick Perkins who only played about 8 minutes in the game.
For the Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki finished with a game high of 34 points on a 10-of-25 shooting night. The only highlight part for Dirk in this game was his 100% shooting from the free throw line by knocking down all of his 13 attempts
to become the 8th player in the history of the NBA to record 1000 points from the free throw line.
Jason Kidd contributed 16 points with 12 of them coming from beyond the arc. Kidd also dished out 8 assists and hauled down seven rebounds. Jason Terry, who was given a starting nod in this game out of desperation by Dallas head
coach Rick Carlisle, signed off with 11 points in the game. Ian Mahinmi also played well for his 10 points.
As has been the trend in the series, OKC made strong start and held a 12-6 advantage. However, the Mavericks who were fighting for their life in the post season, responded back with a 9-2 run to take their first lead in the ball
game.
In the remaining portion of the first period, there was not much to separate the two teams and by the end of the first 12 minutes, the score line was 26-24 in OKC`s favour.
The second quarter saw a similar script being played out with the Thunder getting ahead early and the Mavericks coming from behind to take the lead. OKC were able to get ahead by as much as 7 early but the Mavs responded back with
an 8-0 run to take the lead. At the half way stage the scores were tied up at 47.
Dallas exploded in the third quarter, starting off with a 17-7 run to get ahead by 10 points. OKC, found themselves trailing in the remaining part of the period and by the end of it faced a daunting score line of 68-81.
In the fourth quarter when pressure took centre stage, OKC showed exactly why they are the strongest contenders for the championship this season. Led by a spirited Harden, Thunder started the period on a 17-5 run, capped off by
a dunk from the bearded forward to cut the lead to only 1 point.
Shawn Marion put an end to that rally with a dunk, however the momentum was on OKC`s side, and they came back down the court with Durant hitting from beyond the arc to tie up the scores. The action went right down to the wire and
with 33 seconds on the clock, Thunder held a minor three point advantage.
Harden came back down the court by driving to his right, manoeuvring his way past Kidd to lay the ball up to give OKC a 5 point lead. With the Mavs failing to score on the other end, Kevin Durant split a pair of free throws to
help the Thunder clinch the series.
Tags: