Kevin Durant sinks a three at buzzer as Oklahoma City Thunder edge Dallas Mavericks: NBA Recap
When it comes to delivering in the clutch, there aren’t many players better than Kevin Durant.
After being sucked in by Dirk Nowitzki on the last Dallas Mavericks play, Durant provided an open look to Vince Carter, who made a three to put the reigning champions ahead by 102-101 with only 1.4 seconds left on the clock.
At that time, the Oklahoma City Thunder looked down and out. But, that was not what KD believed. With a sellout crowd at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on the edge, Durant leapt at a sideline pass from Thabo Sefolosha and fired in an instinctive shot from distance, one that was so accurate that it didn’t even touch the rim on the way inside, giving OKC a 104-102 win.
The shot put a befitting end to a marathon game that saw 15 lead changes and 10 score ties.
The game turned to be a shootout competition between Durant and Nowitzki. The OKC man finished the night with 30 points on a 10-16 shooting from the field and 7 of 9 from the free throw range. KD also grabbed 11 rebounds and made 6 assists. The German sharpshooter was not far behind and made all his ten free throws on the way to 29 points, 10 boards and 4 assists.
Russell Westbrook continued to struggle, but found his groove down the stretch to finish with 16 points. The OKC point guard made two big two point plays late in the game and drew a foul from Nowitzki, that ultimately led to a technical on the German. Durant made the resulting free throw and Westbrook followed it with a pull up jumper to give Thunder a five point advantage at 101-96.
Mavs called a timeout and Jason Terry knocked down a missile from the long range immediately after. Durant missed a mid range jumper on the next OKC possession but Serge Ibaka rose to latch on to a rebound, drawing a foul from Nowitzki in the process. With just 9.7 to go, the game would have been won had Ibaka made his free throws. However, he missed both, giving the Mavs a sniff and you just don’t do that.
Dallas and Vinsanity nearly made OKC pay, but a Durant three saved their blushes. Serge Ibaka finished with 16 for the night and James Harden came off the bench with 15.
The Mavs took 27 more shot than OKC, who gave away 26 turnovers on the night. The champs had the better start to the game and were leading by 11-2 early, pushing it to 21-11 with 4:22 to go in the first. OKC however reeled off a 17-5 run and took a 28-26 lead, before Terry made a three to end the first quarter at 29-28.
The Mavs were leading by 42-40 midway through the second, but were stopped by a 10-0 burst and went to the break with a 52-56 deficit. The honours were shared in the third and the game was ultimately decided in the last second.
Jason Terry scored 16 points on the night while David West had 15 for the Mavs.
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