Western Conference Finals Game 3: Dallas at Oklahoma City (May 21) Both teams started sluggish with a 3-pointer by DeShawn Stevenson the only bucket over the first 3 minutes of the game. A layup by Russell Westbrook (on the break after he stole the ball) put Oklahoma City on the board with 9 minutes left, but Dallas rattled off the next 6 points (with 2 Oklahoma City turnovers) to go up 9-2 with 8 minutes left. Another 3-pointer by Stevenson gave Dallas their first 10 point lead at 18-8 with 4:20 to go. The teams traded misses and just two buckets (a 3-pointer by Dallas and putback by the Thunder) over the next 2 1/2 minutes. Dallas scored the next 6 points to take a 17-point lead with 30 seconds remaining (it was also the largest lead of the series thus far). Kevin Durant did hit a jumper in the closing seconds of the quarter. Dallas led 27-12 after 1. Dallas shot 12-23 FG including 3-5 3-pointers and did not attempt a free throw. Oklahoma City had as many free throws made as field goals made as they shot 4-17 FG and 4-4 FT - they also missed all 5 3-pointers that they attempted. Oklahoma City had 7 turnovers while Dallas had 2. And a rarity, Dallas had a huge points-in-the-paint edge at 16-6. It was balanced scoring from Dallas as 6 players scored, led by 8 by Shawn Marion. Durant had 6 points including 1-5 FG and 3 others with 2 points. Dallas continued to pour it on in opening with 2nd quarter with 6 straight points (4 on free throws by Jason Terry, Dallas first free throws of the game) to take their largest lead at 35-12 with 10 minutes remaining. Dallas (and the refs) did help Oklahoma City some by getting into the penalty with 6:35 left. A jumper by Westbrook pulled Oklahoma City within 23-40 with 5:50 to go, but Dallas was able to push their lead back in to the 20s on a steal and dunk that gave the Mavs a 48-27 lead with 2:50 left. After Westbrook hit 2 free throws, Jason Kidd drained a 3-pointer to give Dallas a 51-29 lead with 2:10 left. But the Thunder got to the line repeatedly down the stretch with 7 free throws while Dallas had just 1 free throw (with 1 miss) and missed 4 shots and had 2 turnovers over the last 2 minutes. Dallas led 52-36 at the half. Dallas out-scored Oklahoma City 25-24 in the 2nd quarter as Dallas shot 9-18 FG and 5-7 FT. Oklahoma kept the game from being a blowout thanks to free throws where they shot 12-13 FT and just 6-17 FG (including 3 more missed 3s). The Thunder did get their turnovers under control with 2 in the quarter while Dallas had 5. The Thunder's best shot of the half was free throws as they had 16 free throws made and just 10 field goals made in the half. Dallas was playing well despite Dirk Nowitzki having just 4 points (on 2-5 FG) and 4 turnovers in the half. It was an ugly start to the 3rd quarter with just 6 points scored over the first 3 minutes of the quarter, but they all belonged to Dallas and gave the Mavs a 58-36 lead with 8:45 left - Dallas shot 3-7 FG and Oklahoma City shot 0-7 FG. A layup by Westbrook with 8 minutes to go finally got Oklahoma City on the board in the quarter, but Dallas' lead would be between 21 and 18 points over the next 3 1/2 minutes. Dallas led 65-44 with 5:30 remaining and the Thunder made a rally in scoring the next 8 points to pull within 52-65 with 3 minutes left as Oklahoma City scored on 4 straight possessions while Dallas missed 4 shots. A 3-pointer by Nowitzki (his only 3 of the game) ended the run with 2:30 remaining. Only 6 points were scored over the rest of the quarter (4 by OKC, 2 by Dallas). Dallas led 70-56 after 3. Oklahoma City had a slight edge in the quarter in out-scoring Dallas 20-18 in the 3rd quarter. Both teams shot poorly in the quarter as Dallas shot 6-21 FG including 2-9 3-pointers and Oklahoma City shot 7-21 FG including 4 more missed 3-pointers (upping the game total to 0-12). Dallas shot 4-5 FT and Oklahoma City shot 6-7 FT in the 3rd. Durant finally got an easy shot as he got an open runner to open the 4th quarter, but Dallas' lead would swing between 12 and 14 points over the next 3 minutes. A pseudo-hook by Marion gave Dallas a 78-64 lead with 8:40 to go, but Oklahoma City continued to chip away at Dallas' lead (with Dallas' defense not as strong as it was earlier in the game) and the Thunder used a 10-2 run to pull within 74-80 with 5:35 left. But Nowitzki hit a jumper with the shot clock running down. Tyson Chandler blocked Durant at one end and Nick Collison blocked Nowitzki on the other end. Westbrook hit 1-2 FT and then Nowitzki hit a jumper late in the clock to give Dallas an 84-75 lead with 4 minutes remaining. Durant hit 1-2 FT and Collison tied up Nowitzki on the other end and Oklahoma City controlled the ball and Collison got a dunk with 3:20 to go to pull Oklahoma City within 78-84. The game wasn't pretty over the next couple of plays as Terry missed a 12-footer, Westbrook missed a quick 3-pointer, Nowitzki missed a jumper, and Daequan Cook missed a quick 3-pointer and then the teams traded turnovers in a 5 second span and there was 2 minutes left. Terry curled off a high pick and nailed the short pull-up jumper to give Dallas an 86-78 lead with 1:40 to go and Oklahoma City called timeout. After the timeout, James Harden missed a 3-pointer. Dallas used up some time off the clock and, with Nowitzki and then Terry not open, the ball swung to Kidd and he missed a runner with 1:10 remaining. Durant was fouled inside and hit both free throws with 1 minute to go. Dallas ran more time off the clock and Nowitzki hit a free throw jumper with 43 seconds left to give Dallas an 88-80 lead. But Westbrook finally hit a 3-pointer (the Thunder's first of the game after 16 misses) and Kidd was intentionally fouled with 34 seconds left. He hit 1-2 FT to give Dallas an 89-83 lead [Dallas' first free throws of the quarter after the Thunder had been to the line 12 times]. Surprisingly, Oklahoma City didn't go for a 3 and Westbrook missed driving, but Durant was there for the putback to make it a 4 point game and Nowitzki was intentionally fouled with 23 seconds remaining and he hit both free throws. Oklahoma City used their last timeout. It took them a few seconds to get a shot and Collison got a layup (again surprised they didn't go for a 3) and Terry was intentionally fouled with 14 seconds left and hit both free throws to again make it a 6 point game. As Oklahoma City was looking for a shot, Terry knocked away a pass and Dallas ran the clock out. Dallas won 93-87. Dallas leads the series 2-1. After 2 poor defensive outings, Dallas had their defense going through 3 quarters and that led them to the win (they won't be happy with their 4th quarter defense where Oklahoma City scored 31 points (while Dallas scored 23 points)). Most will tell you that it is hard to sustain a large lead built early in a game, so it was no surprise that Oklahoma City was able to rally in the 4th quarter and make a game off it. But Dallas' veteran experience shown through late in the quarter as Dallas took their time in setting up plays where as Oklahoma City often went for the quick shot instead of taking their time and getting the best shot. And then at the end, they took 2-point shots instead of 3-pointers (though that may have been a coach's decision) with little time left and down by 6 and having to intentionally foul on the other end to stop the clock (with Dallas being a strong free throw shooting team). The other big surprise is that the Thunder did not go to Kevin Durant down the stretch. Granted that Durant was struggling throughout the game and Russell Westbrook was having a fairly good outing - but you would have thought that Durant would have had a couple of touches. Where as, Dirk Nowitzki was struggling throughout the game and yet the Mavs looked to him down the stretch and he came through with some key buckets to hold off the Thunder. So Dallas now has homecourt advantage back and will try to be greedy and get two in Oklahoma City, while the Thunder needs to win the next game to even up the series instead of being down a difficult 1-3. For the stats, Dallas shot 43.9% (36-82) FG including 7-21 FG and Oklahoma City shot 36.5% (27-74) FG - just 30.9% FG through 3 quarters. The Thunder shot just 1-17 3-pointers - they missed their first 16 attempts. Oklahoma City had a big advantage at the line - at one point they had shot 33 free throws while Dallas had attempted just 11 free throws. For the game, Oklahoma City 32-36 FT and Dallas shot 14-18 FT (including 6 attempts on intentional fouls). Oklahoma City did have the rebounding edge at 45-37 but just a 12-9 offensive rebounding difference despite their poor shooting. Dallas had 21 assists and Oklahoma City had just 11 assists. Oklahoma City had 14 turnovers on which Dallas scored 17 points and Dallas had 12 turnovers on which Oklahoma City scored 13 points. Dallas led the entire game and had their largest lead at 23 points during in the 2nd quarter. It wasn't a star-led night as both Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant struggled. But Nowitzki hit some key buckets in the 4th and he had 10 points in the quarter (but also turned the ball over 3 times in the quarter) - Oklahoma City's defense was focused on him, with Nick Collison doing a good job. For the game, Nowitzki had 18 points including 7-21 FG and 1-6 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, and 7 turnovers. Not only did Nowitzki struggle, by Jason Terry also struggled - amazing the team won with those two both not having good outings. Terry had 13 points including 3-12 FG - 6 of his points came in the 4th quarter (2-4 FG, 2 FT on an intentional foul). Shawn Marion had a very nice outing both offensively and defensively (defending Durant). He had 18 points on 9-13 FG and 4 rebounds in 38 minutes, including all 12 in the 4th quarter. Jason Kidd was the steadying veteran hand and floor general and had a solid all-around game with 13 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, and 4 steals. Tyson Chandler also played well defensively in clogging the middle and had 8 points including 3-3 FG and 15 rebounds including 6 offensive. DeShawn Stevenson had 8 points, but his job was on the defensive end (he didn't play in the 4th quarter this game as Terry and Marion each played all 12 minutes). Peja Stojakovic was fairly quiet with 7 points on 3-7 FG and 1-3 3-pointers and 3 rebounds in 16 minutes. J.J. Barea had 4 points on 2-5 FG and 4 assists in 14 minutes - he did get called for 5 fouls, mostly while trying to defend Russell Westbrook. Brendan Haywood had 4 points on 2-5 FG and 2 rebounds in 10 minutes. Both teams went with a 9-man rotation. 14 of Russell Westbrook's 30 points came in the 4th quarter. He shot 8-20 FG and 13-14 FT. He only had 4 assists and continued to be turnover prone with 7 turnovers in this game. Despite his struggles, Kevin Durant had 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists. But he shot just 7-22 FG including 0-8 3-pointers (to go with 10-11 FT). No other Thunder player was in double-digit scoring. Starter Serge Ibaka had 9 points including 4-11 FG, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 24 minutes, but did not play in the 4th quarter. Starter Thabo Sefolosha had 4 points on 2-3 FG and 4 rebounds in 19 minutes and did not play in the 4th quarter. Kendrick Perkins had 4 points on 0-2 FG and 4-4 FT, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 30 minutes but did not play in the 4th quarter. Notice a theme? Coach Scott Brooks did not make a single substitution in the 4th as Westbrook, Durant, and bench players James Harden, Nick Collison, and Daequan Cook played all 12 4th quarter minutes. After a strong Game 2 (23 points), Harden had a poor outing with just 7 points including 2-9 FG and 0-4 3-pointers. He did have 9 rebounds, though, in playing 36 minutes. Collison played good defense on Nowitzki and even tied him up twice on reach-ins that resulted in jumpballs. He had 9 points on a perfect 4-4 FG and 1-1 FT, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 24 minutes. Cook missed the 2 shots he attempted (both 3-pointers) and had 3 fouls for his only stats in 14 minutes. Eric Maynor also had a good Game 2 (13 points) but a poor outing this night with missing his only shot and having a turnover for his only stats in 6 minutes. After getting 50 points off the bench in Game 2, Oklahoma City only got 16 bench points in Game 3. Quotes Rick Carlisle: "We were much better tonight defensively and, you know, we had to be. The first 2 games were poor. We were very fortunate to win the first game. But tonight, we played championship-level defense for the first time in the series. And now the challenge is to sustain." Carlisle: "Tonight we had 9 guys with 4 or more points. I mean, sometimes that's our formula. We had a great start, but Dirk wasn't that involved - I thought that was a good sign, same as Game 2. The difference was that we played better defense tonight." Carlisle: "Shawn Marion got us off to a great start defensively, and he was involved in a lot of great things offensively, scoring, moving the ball. He's such an important player for us because he plays a total game. And his movement offensively, his ability to run, his ability to do things at the basket, and he's an underrated passer. He's been one of our guys that's been a really important playmaker for us as well. So it was a big minute game for him and he came up huge for us." Carlisle on defense: "I knew what we're capable of because the first 10 games of the playoffs we saw it. But you come up against a very different type of opponent, you get seduced a little bit into a different style of play, and you get a little bit seduced out of what made you successful. I believe that happened to us the first couple of games. And then you get hit in the face at home, it's sobering for everybody. So we refocused and guys recommitted to the defensive end." Carlisle on Nowitzki: "He's our guy. In the 4th quarters, he's going to touch the ball as frequently as we can get it to him. If he misses a few shots, he's not going to get deterred, he's not going to get discouraged. He's got the kind of will, he's going to keep going at it. And if he doesn't have a shot, if he's getting double-teamed, he's gotten really good at finding people. He didn't have a good shooting night by his standards. And Oklahoma City had a lot too do with it. They were very physical. And they made it tough on him. So, he hung in and hit some timely shots and then he and Terry worked together well on a some plays. But the key thing was that we were able to get some stops when we needed it in the last 3 1/2 minutes, because they were charging at us." Carlisle on OKC's defense on Nowitzki: "They're making a great effort on him. Now, I don't know in terms of legal limits - I believe the line may be crossed at times. And, you know, if so, the league will see that. But Collison again is another guy that's extremely underrated as a player. He's so important for them and he does so many things on both ends of the floor. And I watched him during the whole Memphis series. And the job he did on Randolph, you know, when they really needed to guard him, he guarded him one-on-one. It's phenomenal. You're talking about a guy that's one of the best post defenders, really, in basketball. He's proven that in 3 playoff series now." Dirk Nowitzki: "Great defensive effort I think early on. Really set the tone for us. Trix [Marion] really taking the challenge. I thought Stevenson was great early. And really that set our offense up there in the 1st half. We didn't call a lot of plays out there. We just played off our defense, moved the ball, got some good shots, got some good looks, and really executed there in the 1st half. 2nd half was a little rougher. We got a little stagnant again here and there. Really had to grind it out there in the 2nd half. I thought we fought through some stuff and we kept our composure when they made a run. And made some big plays down the stretch, some pull-ups. JET hit one, I hit a couple. And I thought Kidd played a great floor game for us and really dictated the game." Nowitzki: "We really gave them nothing easy. To hold a very good offensive team or an explosive offensive team to 36% shooting at home, that's very good and really won us the game. I thought offensively, like I said, we didn't really have much going there in the 2nd half. But our defense kept being solid and won us the game." Nowitzki: "We didn't really have a lot going in the 2nd half offensively, so I've got to keep attacking for this team like I have for the last 13 years. This team needs me to score and to keep being aggressive." Nowitzki on his 4th: "Just found a little airspace on a couple pull-ups. I think that was the way to go. I obviously didn't get a lot of whistles going to the basket, so I had to go with the 1 or 2 dribbles and up. And that created some separation." Nowitzki on he and Terry's struggles: "If our top 2 shooters and top guns are off like that and we still win the game, that's a tribute to our defense." Jason Terry on OKC's comeback: "No lead is safe with this team. They've shown it time and time again during the playoffs and the regular season. They have so much firepower that if you do get up, they're going to continue to fight." Terry: "In a game like this when you're playing in someone else's arena coming off a loss, you have to come out with anger and an intensity. We did that. Now, maintaining that level was tough. They're not just going to die, so to speak." Terry on Nowitzki in the 4th: "The big boy wasn't going to let this one go." Jason Kidd on the veteran experience and OKC's comeback: "Well, we've been up before in the playoffs - up 20, and we lost that game. And we know that they're going to make a run, so we just have to keep our composure. And even with Dirk not having his A game, you know, like I said at halftime, we got 4 other guys that can step up and make shots, and that's what happened this evening." Kidd on Nowitzki: "He's the best. Even if he's not making shots early, he wants the ball to make a play. Every time they made a run, he stepped up and stopped it. And that's what he does." Kidd on OKC's comeback: "We've been here before. Again, a lot of guys will probably mention what happened in Portland and understand that the game's not over until the horn blows and you've got to play for 48 minutes. We didn't panic. We kept our composure." Tyson Chandler on Marion's performance after Marion was criticized during film session: "We've got to have him pissed. We've got to have him slashing all over the place and being aggressive. We don't want the happy Trix. I like the angry [Marion]. He can be pissed off at all of us if he gives us the results." Chandler on Marion: "He took some criticism, and he's man enough to get out there and accept it the way he did. He didn't tuck his tail between his legs and go hide. He stood up like a man and went out there and gave us a great effort tonight." Chandler on Nowitzki: "He was frustrated, because he's used to having a certain level of success. But you've got to give it up to him. They played to Dirk's tendencies, but great players make adjustments." Shawn Marion: "I was just being aggressive with the opportunities I had." Marion: "We came out and did what we needed to do. We knew what we were capable of. It was a matter of us doing things we got away from, especially on the defensive end. We got away from communicating and we weren't the aggressors at the defensive end." DeShawn Stevenson: "Shawn Marion stepped up big. He wasn't kind of there the first 2 games and we talked about it. Him being the person he is, he came back strong. We need that from him." Scott Brooks: "I thought that they came out and did a great job from the start with their defensive pressure. And we did not do a good job offensively. I thought they did a great job, really took us out of our sets, they're trapping of the basketball. Just got us playing on our heels, and that's not how we play. That start was tough to overcome. I give our guys a lot of credit. They fought back and made it a game into the 4th quarter." Brooks: "They were very physical, really pushing us off of our spots and trapping the basketball. They did a great job. We were on our heels and also we missed some shots. The combination of those two things led to a bad start offensively I think we were down, 17 points in that 1st quarter. That's tough to overcome against a very good team in the playoffs. But we did cut the lead to 6 with 3 minutes and some change [left] and we had 2 3s [missed] that could have made the game even more interesting down the stretch." Brooks on the plays at the end: "Russell's 3, that might have been an opportunity for him to attack. Because his attack game was on tonight. He was attacking the basket with the way that he does - he's a very fearless attacker to the rim. DC's [Cook] 3s they were wide open. That's what we have him in there for. He's a tremendous big 3-pointer shooter and he had 2 good looks. I could not have complained about those 2 shots on DC. Kevin, yeah, we probably could have done a better job [getting him the ball]. He wasn't having an offensive, but he was still fighting and trying to find it." Brooks: "They were guarding us much better, there was no question. They started the game off really hitting us and knocking us out of our offense. And we missed a lot of 3s. Those 3s weren't all contested. 1-17 from the 3-point line is not good. ... We've got to get better. We've got to get better. We know that they did a good job of knocking us out of our offense." Kevin Durant on the 1st quarter: "Frustrating. It's tough to start a game, not make shots, and you give teams easy baskets. That's like a backbreaker. They did a good job of making it tough for us. You've got to give those guys credit. They made shots, but I thought we kept fighting and that was one positive thing out of it. But we've got to do a lot better." Durant: "They doubled a lot more off pick-and-rolls and post-ups. They did a good job of doubling and making us pass the ball, me, James [Harden], and Russell. Just made it tough for us. They did a good job. We got adjust and I'm confident that we will. We've got to figure out ways to have a better start." Durant: "We have to take care of home floor next game and then we've got to go back on the road. We've won there before, so we've got to come back and bring a different mindset. We know it's going to be tough. The rest of the series is going to be tough. But if it was easy, everybody would do it." Durant on his missed 3s: "It's not like me. I can't pass up open shots. I had 3 or 4 tonight. I have to stay confident." Russell Westbrook: "It is tough. You are down 20 most of the game and you finally cut it down and then they hit a shot, that hurts your heart. They did that numerous times." Westbrook: "We have one more game at home, which we definitely need to take care of. We need to come out and play the same way defensively and try to get a win." Westbrook: "We just came out slow. They jumped on us and kept their feet on the pedal. It was hard for us to come back." Nick Collison: "They came out and had a lot more energy than we did. They had more of an edge. I think they were the hungrier team." Collison: "We can't spot them a 20-point lead and come back. Eventually, they're going to get some stops, get some points." Kendrick Perkins on Dallas: "I know one thing. They're a veteran team. Their window is short. I knew what kind of team we were facing tonight. We were going to get a veteran team with their eye on the prize. You can't take no possessions off." 2011 Playoffs - Western Conference Finals: Game 3 Dallas Mavericks 93, Oklahoma City Thunder 87 at Oklahoma City (May 21) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 27 25 18 23 - 93 .475 .333 .439 .778 Oklahoma City 12 24 20 31 - 87 .456 .059 .365 .889 Halftime: Dallas 52-36 3rd Q: Dallas 70-56 Technicals: Oklahoma City defensive 3 seconds 8:26 1st, DeShawn Stevenson 8:26 1st, Russell Westbrook (OKC) 6:17 3rd, Tyson Chandler 4:44 3rd Refs: Bob Delaney, Scott Foster, Marc Davis Attendance: 18,203 (sellout) IL: Dallas - Caron Butler, Dominique Jones, Rodrigue Beaubois Oklahoma City - Cole Aldrich, Byron Mullens, Robert Vaden Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Shawn Marion 38 9-13 0-0 0-0 18 0-4 1 0 5 2 2 Dirk Nowitzki 37 7-21 1-6 3-3 18 0-4 1 7 1 0 0 Tyson Chandler 36 3-3 0-0 2-4 8 6-15 0 0 4 2 1 DeShawn Stevenson 22 3-6 2-3 0-0 8 0-0 0 0 2 1 0 Jason Kidd 37 4-10 2-5 3-4 13 1-6 8 2 3 4 0 Peja Stojakovic 16 3-7 1-3 0-0 7 0-3 1 1 1 0 0 Jason Terry 31 3-12 1-4 6-6 13 0-1 6 0 2 2 0 Brendan Haywood 10 2-5 0-0 0-1 4 1-2 0 1 1 0 1 J.J. Barea 14 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 1-2 4 1 5 0 0 Totals 48 36-82 7-21 14-18 93 9-37 21 12 24 11 4 Oklahoma City Thunder REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Kevin Durant 46 7-22 0-8 10-11 24 3-12 5 1 3 2 2 Serge Ibaka 24 4-11 0-0 1-2 9 3-7 0 0 0 0 3 Kendrick Perkins 30 0-2 0-0 4-4 4 1-5 0 2 1 0 2 Thabo Sefolosha 19 2-3 0-1 0-0 4 1-4 0 1 0 1 0 Russell Westbrook 42 8-20 1-2 13-14 30 0-2 4 7 5 2 0 James Harden 36 2-9 0-4 3-4 7 2-9 1 2 2 1 0 Nick Collison 24 4-4 0-0 1-1 9 2-6 1 0 3 2 2 Eric Maynor 6 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 Daequan Cook 14 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 3 0 0 Totals 48 27-74 1-17 32-36 87 12-45 11 14 17 8 9 Go Mavs! patricia ---- Patricia Bender pbender@eskimo.com For Trianglons puzzles: http://www.trianglons.com For NBA stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/index.html For Mavs stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mavs.html