Oklahoma City Thunder overpower Dallas Mavericks 87-83: NBA preseason recap
Reigning Champions Dallas Mavericks had tasted defeat at the hands of Oklahoma City Thunder (O.K.C), last week in their preseason opener and despite having Dirk Nowitzki in the ranks tonight; they failed again and lost their second
consecutive preseason scrimmage.
Dallas dominated the first frame, however in the next two quarters, Thunder outscored the NBA champions, and that is why, despite a massive fight back in the deciding frame, they fell short by 4 points 87-83.
James Harden marshalled the Thunder with 13 points including 3 for 8 from the downtown and 7 rebounds. Russell Westbrook chipped in with 12 points while Kevin Durant had 10 for the winners tonight.
Except Shawn Marion, all the big guns from Dallas failed to produce a healthy tally tonight – the biggest disappointment being Dirk Nowitzki, who only managed to score 6 points in the 22 minutes.
Rookie Jerome Randle paced the Mavericks with a game high 17 points on 7 for 11 from inside the arc while Brandon Wright drained 12. Marion had 10 points and 6 rebounds.
Dominique Jones started the proceedings for Mavericks with back to back free throws; however it was immediately neutralized by a Durant layup.
A slimmed up Kendrick Perkins drove for a reverse layup and Westbrook drilled a three in the next minute to take Thunder ahead 7-4, but then Nowitzki and Marion combined for a 9-2 run to make it 13-9 for the Mavs. In the next few
minutes, Lamar Odom and Jason Kidd drilled three 3s between them which allowed Mavericks to finish the first frame with a 6 point lead 24-18.
Thunder fought back as Harden and Cole Aldrich contributed a 7-1 spurt in the opening minutes of second frame to tie the game at 25. After an intense fight for the domination in the next few minutes, the scores again got levelled
at 37 all.
Mavericks slowed down after that, giving Thunder the space to bolt off a 10-2 run and end the first half at 47-39.
Thunder carried their momentum in the next frame and boosted their lead to a mammoth 19 points, at 59-40. Mavericks succumbed to the pressure and missed few baskets on offering which allowed Thunder to end the 3rd at
74-53.
Oklahoma managed to maintain the 20 plus lead midway through the deciding quarter to turn the game completely in their favour, however they got complacent in the latter part of the period and allowed Mavericks to bounce back with
a 21-4 run that continued until the end. Fortunately for Thunder though, their lead was enough to lead them to a win.
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