Kevin Durant stars as Oklahoma City Thunder edge out Dallas Mavericks: NBA Playoffs Game -2 Recap - Part 2
The Dallas Mavericks came out of the interval with more determination about them and scored the opening five points. Oklahoma City Thunder were able to hold them off for just a while before a 10 – 2 run saw the visitors go ahead,
67 – 64. The scores remained close after that and an intense third period ended with the Thunder up again, 79 – 77.
What followed was a thrilling final 12 minutes. The two sides went toe-to-toe for the duration of the last quarter, with each replying the other in kind. With no one able to pull away, the game went right down the wire.
Kevin Durant made two crucial free throws to put his side ahead 98 – 97, and the Thunder opened up a 3 point lead before Jason Terry cut it down to 1 with just over 20 seconds on the clock. However when James Harden sank two more
freebies, the Mavs failed to respond, giving OKC the 102 – 99 win.
It was the second closely contested game in the series and the second time Dallas had ended up on the losing side. Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle was very upset about the outcome but stressed that sometimes it is what it is and
his side should keep trying.
"We just haven't made enough plays. It is tough, there's no question about it," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "We've had opportunities and we haven't cashed in. They've made one more play than we have in both games. That's
how playoff basketball is."
The loss makes it even harder for the Dallas Mavericks to come back, and super star forward Dirk Nowitzki stressed that the team must win the next game in the series to stay in contention.
"That's really all we need right now is to get on the board on Thursday," said Nowitzki, who added the team was still confident "I still think the guys are upbeat, even though we're down 2-0. The guys know that we're right there.
We're still in this if we get the game on Thursday."
Nowitzki was once more the shining star for Dallas, with his game high 31 points helping them more than stay in the hunt. The forward also had 6 rebounds.
Shawn Marion scored 15 points and had 8 rebounds for the NBA World Champions while Jason Terry and Delonte West managed 13 each. Veteran point guard Jason Kidd had 10 points to go with 7 assists.
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