Russell Westbrook leads Oklahoma City Thunder past Dallas Mavericks 95 – 86 – NBA Recap
The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the NBA World Champions Dallas Mavericks 95 – 86 behind a solid effort by star point guard Russell Westbrook. The game at the American Airlines Center swayed back and forth but the talented Thunder were able to overcome
the veteran Mavericks in the end thanks to some clutch shooting at the death.
Westbrook was the star of the show and the livewire guard scored a game high 33 points to go along with 4 assists and 6 boards. Kevin Durant was prolific as ever for Oklahoma City with 23 points and 13 rebounds in a double-double effort while James Harden
came off the bench to good effect, providing 10 points and 9 assists.
The Mavericks on the other hand struggled quite a bit, especially the starters. Talismanic star Dirk Nowitzki was carrying an injury tonight and it greatly impacted his performance, with the sharp shooter only connecting on 2-of-15 attempts in the game.
Others had to step up for Dallas with Nowitzki off song and the points came through may sources, Jason Terry being the most productive among them. The guard scored team high 25 points coming off the bench. Brandon Wright meanwhile had 12 points and so did
Shawn Marion, with the veteran also grabbing 10 boards.
The game was a sight to behold as despite their struggles, the Mavericks appeared the stronger team at the start. They dominated the early proceeding and were up by 29 – 21 after the first quarter.
OKC started the second period with a 5 – 0 burst to eat away at the lead. They took the game to the NBA Champions in the segment and came away with 28 points compared to 23 by the Mavericks. The gap therefore was reduced to just 3, the score 52 – 49 to Dallas
at halftime.
After the interval though things changed drastically, as Oklahoma City stepped up a gear, while the Mavericks simply couldn’t get anything going. The Mavs were reduced to just 14 points in the third quarter, whereas the Thunder scored 22; going into the
final period up at 71 – 66.
Dallas though weren’t going away without a fight and gave Oklahoma City plenty of problems and drew level at 85 – 85 with 2:15 left on the clock. Westbrook and Durant though stepped up for a 7 – 0 flurry that took the game away from Dallas once and for all
and the Thunder eventually closed it out at 95 – 86.
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