Thunder-Mavericks Preview

By MATT BECKER
Posted Jan 02 2012 12:44AM

While the first week of the season went about as well as possible for the Oklahoma City Thunder, it could not have gone much worse for the Dallas Mavericks.

Last Thursday's meeting in Oklahoma City pretty much sums that up.

Four nights after Kevin Durant hit an incredible buzzer-beater in a win over the defending champions, the undefeated Thunder look to continue their best start in a dozen years against a Dallas team trying to avoid its worst start in 13 seasons in Monday night's rematch.

Led by Durant's clutch scoring and a stingy defense, Oklahoma City (5-0) is quickly looking like the team to beat in the Western Conference. The Thunder fell to the Mavericks in five games in last season's West finals, but got a small measure of revenge on Thursday.

Oklahoma City seemed like it was headed to its first loss when Vince Carter hit a 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds remaining to put Dallas up by one, but Durant responded with a deep 3-pointer of his own, lifting the Thunder to a 104-102 win.

Oklahoma City followed that up with Saturday's 107-97 victory over Phoenix to improve to 5-0 for the first time since opening 6-0 in 1998, as the Seattle SuperSonics.

"You've got to start the new year with a win," said Russell Westbrook, who had a game-high 18 points. "Hopefully, we can keep this going."

While the Thunder are hoping to bridge their early-season success into 2012, the Mavericks are hoping to stop the bleeding.

Dallas (1-4) has struggled to build its chemistry after losing key contributors Tyson Chandler and J.J. Barea from last year's championship run. The abbreviated preseason didn't help, as newcomers Carter, Lamar Odom and Delonte West are still trying to get comfortable with a new system.

"We got a lot of new pieces and we're trying to do this on the run," Jason Kidd said after Sunday's 99-82 loss at previously winless Minnesota. "We're going to make mistakes and we just have to try and get better."

The Mavericks turned the ball over 17 times against the Timberwolves, while Kidd, Odom, Carter and Jason Terry combined to score 26 points on 8 of 30 shooting. Dirk Nowitzki finished with 21 points for Dallas, which was outscored 25-13 in the fourth quarter.

The Mavericks are trying to avoid their worst start since opening 1-8 in 1998-99, and another defeat would give them five, a total they didn't reach last season until their 24th game.

"We have to get better (Monday) and keep moving," coach Rick Carlisle said. "Try to get ourselves back moving in the right direction."

That obviously won't be easy against Durant, who is likely eager to take the court and put his worst offensive showing of the season behind him.

After scoring 30 against the Mavericks, the two-time defending NBA scoring champion finished with 12 on 4 of 11 shooting Saturday, falling well short in his bid to become the first player since Michael Jordan in 1986 to score at least 30 in the first five games of a season.

Durant's off night against the Suns didn't hurt, though, as the Thunder came up with another big defensive effort, limiting Phoenix to 39.8 percent shooting. Oklahoma City is holding opponents to an average of 40.6 percent from the field.

"We're playing hard, everybody's engaging on the defensive end and helping each other," Thabo Sefolosha said. "It's a big part of our success right now."

The Mavericks shot 42.2 percent against the Thunder, as Nowitzki had a season-best 29 points on 9 of 17. The rest of Dallas' starters combined to score 34.

Mavs send Thunder to first loss with 100-87 win

By JAIME ARON
Posted Jan 03 2012 1:32AM

DALLAS (AP) In their sixth game, Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks finally looked like the reigning NBA champions.

They loaded up on easy baskets. They forced the league's last unbeaten team to miss way more shots than usual. And the best highlights came from their superstar, as Nowitzki scored 10 of his 26 points during a third-quarter spurt that sent the Mavs to a 100-87 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night.

Dallas had been 1-4, with its aging roster seeming to show its age and a gaggle of new players looking like they needed more time to get in the flow. Yet while playing their fourth game in five nights, the Mavs had their best game so far.

"This team is set up to get better month-by-month," Nowitzki said. "We should have a good team in March and April. Saying that, we've still got to find ways to win. ... This team has a lot of potential, with a lot of scorers, a lot of veterans who know how to play. We can be a very dangerous team."

The Thunder, who lost to the Mavericks in the Western Conference finals last season and beat Dallas with a buzzer-beater last week, were the more dangerous team coming in. They started the night 5-0, joining Miami as the league's last unbeatens. The Heat lost to Atlanta while this game was going on.

Oklahoma City had a chance to take a healthy lead in the opening minutes, when the Mavericks missed nine of their first 11 shots. But the Thunder just never got going - on either end. They gave up 34 points in the second quarter then scored just 18 in the third.

"We didn't have any energy from the beginning," said Kevin Durant, who scored 27 points. "We need energy. It changes the whole game. We need to play with more effort. Everybody looks to me so I've got to start the game better."

Russell Westbrook added 18 points and eight rebounds, and Harden had 16 points and seven rebounds.

"(Losing) one game out of six isn't the end of the world," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "They played much better than us throughout. It wasn't our night. They shot better than us. And we missed shots we normally make."

Dallas began pulling away with a 9-2 run at the start of the second quarter, but Oklahoma City kept clawing back to keep things close. Then Nowitzki took over.

He opened the second half with a jumper over Kendrick Perkins that left the big man snarling at his own bench. He made another shot with defender James Harden ducking for cover, then scooped in a layup on a play that began with Delonte West spinning Harden to the floor. The layup put Dallas up by 15 and the game wasn't close again.

Before the game, Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said, "I don't think we're as far off as it may appear." He turned out to be right. Two of their flaws were fixed as the Mavs scored 56 points in the paint and kept the rebounds even at 41. Dallas had been averaging nine fewer rebounds than their foes.

They also got points from a variety of players.

Shawn Marion scored 17 points, Jason Terry 15 and Vince Carter a season-high 14 - eight on free throws. Jason Kidd didn't score but had a season-high nine assists.

"We're gaining a little momentum, but we were gaining momentum last week and then laid an egg last night in Minnesota," Carlisle said. "We've got to continue the right way and maintain the proper focus, and that's challenging."

Nowitzki was 10 of 16, with four of his misses from 3-point range. He had six rebounds, three assists and two steals.

"I've still got work to do, like everyone else," Nowitzki said. "My wind is coming back and my legs are getting stronger."

Notes: Nowitzki made a 10-foot, stepback jumper at 7:40 of the second quarter for his 8,000th career basket. He's fourth among active players (behind Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan) and 31st on the NBA career list. ... Oklahoma City's Daequan Cook (flu) was inactive. Thabo Sefalosha also had a touch of flu, but started. He didn't play the second half because of a sore right foot. ... The Mavericks don't play in Washington, D.C., this season, but they're headed there on Monday for the annual champion's visit to the White House. Team president Terdema Ussery set it up after the club realized the omission on the lockout-condensed schedule. Mavs owner Mark Cuban said "the league office was stupid or dumb or worse" to let that happen.

Notebook: Mavericks 100, Thunder 87

By Dave Ivey, for NBA.com
Posted Monday January 2, 2012 11:57PM

THE FACTS: Dirk Nowitzki scored 26 points and the defending champion Mavericks played their best all-around game of the season, knocking the Thunder from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 100-87 win in Dallas on Monday. Shawn Marion added a season-high 17 points and Vince Carter scored 14 off the bench, which outscored the Oklahoma City subs by a 47-25 margin. Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 27 points.

QUOTABLE: "I feel like we're going to be able to play with anybody ultimately."
-- Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle.

THE STAT: The Mavericks shot a season-high 48.8 percent against an Oklahoma City defense that had held its first five opponents below 45 percent from the field.

TURNING POINT: After a sluggish start for both teams that included five lead changes and six ties in the early going, the momentum started to swing toward Dallas when Carter checked into the game. He knocked down his first two buckets in the first quarter and scored eight during the Mavericks' 34-point second quarter. He repeatedly attacked the rim, finishing 8-for-9 at the line, and his energy was contagious.

HOT: After missing seven of his nine shots in the first half, including two layups in the first five minutes of the game, Marion caught fire after intermission. The Mavericks forward was 6-for-8 in the second half, including his first 3-pointer of the season.

NOT: The Thunder shot just 40.3 percent against the Mavericks, who entered the game ranked last in the league in field-goal defense. Oklahoma City shot 26.3 percent (5-for-19) from downtown.

GOOD MOVE: Dallas centers Brendan Haywood and Ian Mahinmi continually found holes in the middle of the Thunder defense and crashed the glass, combining for 16 points and 17 rebounds (seven offensive boards). The Mavericks outscored the Thunder 56-42 in the paint.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: For Oklahoma City, Russell Westbrook tallied 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals and James Harden contributed 16 points, seven boards, three assists and two steals. Jason Kidd dished a season-high nine assists and Jason Terry scored 15 for Dallas.

ROOKIE WATCH: Oklahoma City guard Reggie Jackson played six minutes and missed all three of his shots from 3-point range, including an airball. He had one rebound and one assist.

NOTABLE: Owner Mark Cuban announced before the game that the Mavericks will visit President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday to recognize their 2011 NBA championship. ... Thunder 3-point specialist Daequan Cook (flu) did not play and starting swingman Thabo Sefolosha (sore left foot) saw limited duty. ... Nowitzki's 10-foot fadeaway at 7:40 of the second quarter was the 8,000th field goal of his career. He is the fourth active player and 31st in NBA history to reach that milestone. ... Dallas snapped the Thunder's five-game win streak. Last year, the Mavs halted six streaks of five or more games, including 12-gamers by the Spurs and Heat.

UP NEXT: For the Mavericks, Wednesday vs. Phoenix, Thursday @ San Antonio, Saturday vs. New Orleans. For the Thunder, Tuesday vs. Portland, Friday vs. Houston, Saturday @ Houston.

• Thunder: Cook, Reid
• Mavericks: Wright

• Thunder: Westbrook
• Mavericks: --

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
• Officials: #19 James Capers, #11 Derrick Collins, #70 Brent Barnaky
• Attendance: 20108
• Duration: 2:14