Oklahoma City Thunder sneak past Dallas Mavericks, 106-100: NBA Play-offs Finals
Kevin Durant posted 24 points, as the Oklahoma City Thunder tied the series at 1-1 with a 106-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of their Western Conference finals on Thursday, May 19.
James Harden led the Thunder with 23 points while Eric Maynor tallied 13 points in the victory.
"I was just trying to play off those guys. They really won the game for us," said Durant.
Game 3 of the final series is set for Saturday, May 21.
Dirk Nowitzki, who scored incredible 48 points in the series opener, ended with 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting in Game 2 for the Mavericks, who lost first game at American Airlines Centre this post-season. Dallas ended their seven-game winning streak with this loss.
After committing four turn-overs and a foul, Russell Westbrook was benched in the last minute of the third period. Jason Kidd made a pair of free throws moments later to give the Mavericks a 76-73 margin. Harden then knocked down a three-point play to put the Thunder ahead by one point with just 8 ticks remaining on the clock. Oklahoma City did not trail from there.
In spite of posting 18 points in the first three frames, Westbrook did not play in the final quarter.
Harden opened his 10-point final period with a three pointer and drained another three-pointer from long range to make it 91-87 for the Thunder with less than eight minutes left.
J.J. Barea of Mavericks responded with a deep make of his own, but Oklahoma notched 11 of the next 13 points to take a double-digit advantage. Harden capped the burst with a long jumper for a 102-92 lead with less than four minutes to play.
Nowitzki made two baskets and DeShawn Stevenson hit a pair of free throws to pull Dallas within four points with less than two minutes remaining, but that was as close as it got.
Nick Collison put the Thunder up 104-98 when he made up for two missed free throws on the previous possession.
Nowitzki, who set an NBA record by making all 24 of his free throws on Tuesday, could not make it a one-possession contest when he missed his attempt for the second time.
Trailing by four points, Dallas still had an opportunity by forcing a shot clock violation with just 13 seconds remaining. However Peja Stojakovic missed a three-point play and Oklahoma City kept the lead from there.
The fourth quarter was much different than the opening frame, when Oklahoma City came out sluggish.
Kidd and Tyson Chandler connected on consecutive alley-oops to cap a burst of 10 straight Dallas points halfway through the first quarter.
The dunks gave the Mavericks a 21-11 advantage. Dallas was up by as many as 11 points before Oklahoma City awoke from their slumber.
The Thunder finally cut their deficit to 31-26 at the end of the opening quarter and notched 10 straight points early in the second frame to take a 40-35 advantage on a Daequan Cook’s three-point play with three minutes left.
Both teams traded punches the rest of the way. Westbrook banked in a three-pointer in the last minute of the second quarter to the Mavericks a 59-57 margin at the half-time.
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