NBA Playoffs: Thunder beat Mavericks 106-100 in Game 2; series at 1-1 Highlights
DALLAS: Oklahoma City Thunder defenders put a lid on Dirk Nowitzki while Kevin Durant 24 points and James Harden hit 23 points to defeat Dallas Mavericks in the Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals series in NBA Playoffs here Thursday night.
Kevin Durant, Jason Kidd. Courtesy: Reuters
With this victory, the Thunder have equalized the series at 1-1 which now moves to Oklahoma City for the next two games.
While Dirk Nowitzki was guarded very well, Kevin Durant proved a real tough guy to defend but it was the bench strength that gave Thunder the real edge, especially down the stretch.
Nick Collison, Dirk Nowitzki. Courtesy: Getty Images
With Dallas Mavericks putting up the pressure in the final seconds of third quarter, it was Harden who scored four vital points that helped Oklahoma City Thunder maintain a one point lead going into the final quarter. If that wasn’t enough, Harden then joined forces with Eric Maynor, Nick Collison, and Daequan Cook to support Kevin Durant in the final quarter that outwitted Dallas completely.
Dirk Nowitzki. Courtesy: Getty Images
A 14-5 stretch took Thunder to 10 points lead with only 3:15 left in the final buzzer but Dallas regrouped and cut down the lead to four points but they failed to surpass the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Kevin Durant was appreciative of his team’s reserves as he told reporters after the Game 2, “They’ve been playing hard all year for us and this was another example”.
Kevin Durant, James Harden. Courtesy: Reuters
Oklahoma City haven’t lost two on the trot in the postseason and tonight they once again avoided the scare and now all eyes are on the Game 3 which is scheduled for Saturday night in Thunder’s home court.
Dirk Nowitzki could score 29 points tonight, out of which 16 he scored in the final quarter, but it wasn’t a match-winning performance especially when it is compared with the Game 1 where he had scored 48 points.
Russell Westbrook. Courtesy: Getty Images
Durant made a fair comment on how his team stopped Nowitzki, “We made it a little tougher for him”.
Tonight’s defeat ended Dallas Mavericks’ seven-game winning streak and also dropped their home record in the playoffs to 6-1 at.
Tyson Chandler scored 15 points while Jason Kidd hit 14 points as well as seven assists for the home side but their bench couldn’t provide the scoring punch which was expected as J.J. Barea hit 11 points and Jason Terry and Peja Stojakovic had eight points apiece.
Kevin Durant, Brendan Haywood. Courtesy: Getty Images
For Thunder, Maynore hit 13 points, Cook eight, and Collison six while Russell Westbrook also came back strongly by scoring 18 points but was made to watch the game from the bench in the fourth quarter.
Durant said, “I was surprised but Eric was playing a great floor game and was getting everyone involved”.
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