Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Oklahoma City Thunder 98 at Dallas Mavericks 99
The Dallas Mavericks haven't lost three consecutive games all season long, and though it took every second of a 48-minute affair, that wasn't going to change on Friday night.
After dropping back-to-back games at home to the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers, the Mavericks welcomed the Oklahoma City Thunder to the American Airlines Center. The Thunder traveled south on I-35 out for revenge after a 100-86 Maverick win in Oklahoma City on Dec. 16. But the Mavericks had other things in mind, milking the combination of the newest member of the 20,000-point fraternity and the reigning Sixth Man of the Year to squeak out a crucial 99-98 home win before taking off for a five-game Eastern Conference road trip.
(Photo by Danny Bollinger/NBAE via Getty Images)
"It wasn't pretty, but definitely before you go on a big road trip you never want to leave with a loss," forward Dirk Nowitzki said. "We found a way as a veteran team to grind it out and get a win."
"Our effort the whole game was great," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. of the win. "It's a great win. There were stretches I wish we would have played better in terms of our efficiency with the ball, stuff like that, but the effort and conviction was first-rate...We made an all-out effort tonight. (The Thunder) is a good team. They pose multiple problems because of their quickness and athleticism."
Friday night the Mavericks were certainly threatened by the Thunder's athleticism head-on.
The Mavericks were without forward Tim Thomas (personal reasons) and guard Matt Carroll (stomach virus), so the team activated forwards James Singleton and the newly acquired Eduardo Najera. Carlisle was hoping that the two could provide energy and hustle if called upon.
But the upstart Thunder sent a message to the Mavericks from the opening tip, putting Dallas in an early deficit with a 7-0 run to begin the game. The Mavericks stuck around with an assertive, attacking Josh Howard playing above the rim at both ends. Howard and the Thunder's Kevin Durant went back and forth in the opening 12 minutes of play, but Oklahoma City got the upper hand with a 28-19 lead after one. Dallas shot just 4-for-15 in the period, trailing after the first quarter for the eighth straight game.
"We had to find a way to grind this one out, even though offensively it wasn't great," Nowitzki said.
In the second quarter, Dallas found a spark plug off the bench in sixth man Jason Terry, as the guard joined with Nowitzki to power the Mavericks' offensive attack.
"We need JET (Terry)," Nowitzki said. "If we're going to take this to the next level, we need JET to be aggressive and make shots, because that's what he's been doing his whole career."
But the Mavs' miscues and turnovers played right into the athletic Thunder's hands. With Russell Westbrook catching fire in the second stanza, the Thunder lead grew to as much as 11 before the half closed with Oklahoma City up 55-48. Durant led all scorers at the half with 15 points, while Nowitzki kept the Mavs afloat with his 12 first half points.
(Photo by Danny Bollinger/NBAE via Getty Images)
"Durant is a great, young player," the coach said. "He is savvy beyond his years...Talented guy that can do phenomenal things."
The Thunder's 48 percent shooting, compared to the Mavericks' 43 percent, and a 21-16 advantage in the rebounding battle paced Oklahoma City to the early advantage. Dallas stayed in the game at the charity stripe, attempting 10 more foul shots and connecting on 20-of-24 at the line.
"We hurt ourselves in the first half with turnovers. Sixteen points off 10 turnovers was really a major difference. We kept it to four turnovers in the second half and that was a big key," Carlisle said.
Nowitzki continued his assault on the Thunder defense in the third quarter. With an array of shots from the outside and in the interior, the first European and only Mav to join the 20,000-point club posted 11 points in the third to help his team surge in front 74-71 headed into the fourth quarter.
The Thunder didn't fade away in the final period, as reserve guard Eric Maynor's ability to knock down circus shots and play-make for others put the young Oklahoma City squad back ahead with a 9-0 run in the early minutes of the fourth. At the other end the Mavericks turned to their own play-making point guard, as Jason Kidd began to find success posting up the Thunder's smaller defenders. With every change of possession, the two teams exchanged the lead and the momentum in the final minutes. But with Shawn Marion's defense keeping Durant from taking over the game, Nowitzki and Terry supplied the offense late.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
Still Durant and the Thunder kept charging, as the former Texas standout tied the game at 93-all with 2-of-3 at the foul line after a Marion foul on a 3-point attempt with 1:05 remaining. But Nowitzki came right back, raining in a jumper to put the Mavs back ahead two on the next possession with 48.9 ticks on the clock. After a loose ball foul on Westbrook, Nowitzki doubled that advantage with 2-for-2 at the foul line with just 30.6 seconds left. But Durant came right back to cut the Dallas lead to 97-96, fouling Marion out with a three-point play on an inbound pass with 28.1 seconds still separating the Mavs from the victory.
"A couple of those (fouls) were kind of iffy, but it is what it is," Marion said. "He gets up a lot of shots, so I guess sooner or later they have to call something because he shoots so much."
"Durant turns the corner and gets a three-point play on the one play...That's a tough play. He has some unusual ability to get there and hit them," Carlisle said.
That just meant more theatrics from Nowitzki, as the superstar answered Durant once again with a jumper with just 6.9 left on the game clock.
After Kidd's deliberate foul on Durant, the subsequent free throws cut Dallas' lead to 99-98 with 4.7 seconds left. Then it was Terry's turn to cash it in at the foul line, but the guard missed a pair at the line, ending a stretch of 16 straight made free throws.
"I was trying to make the first one, no question," Terry said of the trip to the foul line. "The second one rimmed out...For my free throw coach we'll say I did try to miss that one. But it worked out for us. We got our hands on the ball and they didn't have any timeouts, so you probably do want to miss it in that situation."
After Kristic grabbed the rebound, the ball found its way into Westbrook's hands, but the guard's desperation 3/4-court heave clanked of the backboard as time expired.
"The key was we were able to execute," Carlisle said. "We took the foul on the three, which we thought was the right thing to do. That worked out. It's another one-possession game, where we come out with a W. It's a big plus.”
The combination of Nowitzki and Terry scored 16 of the final 18 Maverick points to claim the win.
"That's Maverick basketball," Terry said. "Myself and Dirk, we take a huge responsibility at the end of the game. But it's all about effort, desire and the will to win."
But it was the Dallas defense that Nowitzki commended after the game.
"Defensively, I thought we did a great job the whole second half," Nowitzki said. "Forcing them into some tough shots and rebounding the ball...Defensively, I think that's what won us the game. We got some key stops down the stretch."
Nowitzki finished with a game-high 32 points while Terry added 21 off the bench. Running the show was Kidd, finishing with 11 points while dishing out 11 assists for his 11th double-double of the season. Howard's 11 points made it four Mavs in double figures, as Dallas out-shot Oklahoma City 44 percent to 42 percent.
Durant's 30 points on 6-of-18 shooting (14-for-16 at the the foul line), led five Thunder players in double figures.
The Mavericks captured the win despite being out-rebounded 45-34, utilizing 18 forced turnovers to the tune of 22 points at the other end.
Now Dallas begins an epic five-game road trip, first making a trip north of the border to face off with the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
"We've got some tough games on this trip. We've got to be ready...It's going to be cold, too. It's been cold here but it's going to be really cold on that East Coast. Get your coat and button up," Marion said.
Sunday, the Raptors-Mavericks game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 11:30 a.m. CT.
Dallas returns home to host the Milwaukee Bucks on Jan. 26. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.
The Mavericks and the NBA have introduced the official NBA All-Star game ballot, featuring Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry. For more on how to vote for your favorite Mavs for the All-Star game, to be held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, visit Mavs.com.
Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.
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