Recap: Mavericks 91 at Thunder 95

Recap: Mavericks 91 at Thunder 95

Earl K. Sneed reports from Oklahoma City and recaps the Dallas Mavericks' road defeat to the Thunder to start a stretch of five games in six nights.

OKLAHOMA CITY — There’s no one word Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks could use to describe Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki heading into the two teams’ Monday night matchup.

Just a game after Nowitzki poured in a season-high 40 points in less than 29 minutes of action during a 102-96 home win over the Utah Jazz Saturday night, the 7-footer looked to continue the offensive success against the Western Conference’s best team. Meanwhile, Brooks headed into the highly-anticipated matchup looking for a way to slow the 11-time All-Star down but also paid homage to Nowitzki’s longevity and recent scoring surge after a slow start to the season.

“Well, Dirk is back,” Brooks said. “He had the slow start for whatever reason, but the guy is one of the best players in basketball. His body seems to be in a good place now. Forty points in 29 minutes, that’s impressive. He scores in so many different ways. He always seems to hit the tough shots — the contested shots, the off-balanced shots, fadeaway shots — against us. It seems like more (against) us than other teams. He’s back and they’re a good team that’s gonna be right there come playoff time.”

Nowitzki and the Mavericks then stepped into Chesapeake Energy Arena looking to hand the Thunder just its second home loss of the season while also trying to finish the season series against last year’s conference finalist at 2-2. But before Nowitzki would have an opportunity to terrorize the Thunder defense, he would first have to watch a teammate limp off the court and into the locker room after the first possession of the game. And although Nowitzki saved his best for last, finishing the game with a flurry in the fourth quarter, the Mavericks (22-17) fell in a similar fashion as their 104-102 loss in OKC on Dec. 29, leaving the Thunder’s home floor this time with a 95-91 defeat.

“We won the championship last year because we were the best team executing down the stretch — getting stops, on the offensive end getting what we want, not turning the ball over. And this year, thus far, we just don’t have it. It almost felt like last year, down the stretch of a close game, we were pulling it out somehow. And this year, it’s just not happening. We’re losing all the close games for whatever reason.”

“These are games we have to win and we’re very disappointed we didn’t get it done tonight,” sixth man Jason Terry added.

Already without backup big man Brandan Wright (concussion), the Mavs would be forced to turn to Ian Mahinmi after starting center Brendan Haywood came down badly from a driving attempt around Kendrick Perkins and headed for the locker room just 31 seconds into the game.

“Perkins was kind of riding me a little bit and I think I landed on his foot,” Haywood said of the play. “It’s a little sore, it’s a little swollen … but it’s nothing like, ‘Oh, my God, it’s the end of the world, I might have to miss three weeks,’ or anything like that. I might miss a game or two, I might not. It’s hard to say right now.”

With the 7-footer ruled out for the rest of the night due to a sprained left ankle, however, the Mavs rallied around Nowitzki and Mahinmi before Lamar Odom came off the bench to provide an instant spark. Still, despite a combined 12 points from Odom and Mahinmi off the bench, the Mavs trailed 26-23 after the opening quarter.

Again turning to their bench, the Mavs handed over the offensive responsibilities to Terry and third-year guard Rodrigue Beaubois early in the second stanza. With Nowitzki continuing his offensive prowess while Mahinmi dominated inside, the Mavs then sprinted to an advantage as large as nine, taking a 52-45 lead into the halftime break.

In place of Haywood, Mahinmi posted 13 first-half points and Nowitzki added 10 on a combined 10-of-17 shooting as the Mavs outscored the Thunder in the paint, 28-16. Meanwhile, the Mavs held two-time scoring champion Kevin Durant to just eight points on 3-of-8 shooting as Dallas’ 50 percent from the field bettered the Thunder’s 41 percent through two quarters.

The Mavs would stumble coming out of the locker room, however, as the Thunder (30-8) began the third period on a 7-0 run to wipe out Dallas’ advantage. But with forward Shawn Marion locking down Durant and Beaubois doing the same against All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook, the Mavs briefly regained the upper hand. That is until a 14-4 Thunder run changed the momentum late in the period in favor of the home team as Oklahoma City entered the fourth quarter with a 68-65 lead.

The Mavs ran into an obstacle starting the game’s final period when recently recalled big man Sean Williams was forced into the game cold off the bench after Mahinmi picked up his fifth foul with 11:14 left in the period. Still, the Mavs rallied by continuing an 11-2 run from the end of the third to take a 72-70 lead on Nowitzki’s 3-pointer with 10:23 on the clock. Terry and Thunder sixth man James Harden then exchanged scores as both reserves tried to lead their teams to the win.

“I thought our defense was good on Durant and Westbrook, even on Harden before he got going at the beginning of the fourth,” Nowitzki said.

But with the game drawing to a close, the ball would again flow Nowitzki’s and Durant’s way as the two go-to players both looked to take over. And after back-to-back 3-pointers by Nowitzki, the Mavs surged ahead before he swished in another three to put the Mavs up just 91-87 as the game ticked to its final 2:44. The Mavs wouldn’t score again the rest of the way.

After a controversial call went against the Mavs, the team then would have to finish the game without Mahinmi as the big man fouled out with 46.2 seconds remaining, leading to a Thunder edge by one following two free throws by Serge Ibaka.

“You know, I didn’t think I fouled him. I went straight up and I think I got a good swipe at the ball,” Mahinmi said of his sixth foul call of the night. “No contact on the body, so I think it was a block for me. The referee decided it was a foul and, you know, that’s on him.”

“I’m in disbelief that there was a foul called on Mahinmi,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle empathically said. “I just watched the play five times. I mean, it’s a block. I mean, it’s an enormous play, and then Nowitzki gets hit on the arm at the other end. I’m at a loss.”

Attempting to mount a comeback, the Mavs remained down after an ability to get a shot to the rim, earning a 24-second violation with 22.2 seconds left and giving the ball back to the Thunder with Dallas down one. Durant then extended the Thunder’s lead to two after hitting 1-of-2 at the foul line with 13.9 ticks still on the clock.

After a timeout, the Mavs went to a two-man game of Terry and Nowitzki, with Terry first driving the ball to the baseline and feeding point guard Jason Kidd after he ran out of space. Kidd then quickly threw the ball back in the direction of Terry, but with Perkins flying his way, the sharpshooter drew just the front of the rim on the shot before Westbrook finished the Mavs off with a pair of shots at the free throw line.

“We haven’t really been sharp on our execution at the end of ballgames and that’s hurt us,” Terry said of his team’s play down the stretch. “Not a big concern because I know the type of team we are, and we thrive in those situations. We’ve just gotta keep grinding it out. Eventually it will swing our way and we’ll pull these games out, but it’s been a thorn in our side all season.”

Scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter, Nowitzki finished the game as the high-point man with 27 points on 10-of-22 from the field and 4-of-6 from behind the arc. Terry added 18 points off the bench and Mahinmi pitched in 13 points in a reserve role while Marion was the only other Mav starter in double figures with 10 points to go with 10 rebounds.

Harden posted 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Westbrook led the Thunder with 24 points and Durant added 22 points on a combined 12-of-38 shooting as the Mavericks’ 42.9 percent shooting bettered the Thunder’s 38.2 percent at the other end. In defeat, the Mavs also finished with 38-28 edge in points in the paint despite getting outrebounded, 45-36. The Thunder also attempted 23 more free throws than the Mavs, hitting 29-of-33 at the charity stripe.

“They go to the line 33 times and we go 10, but that’s the way it is on the road. We still had chances to win the game,” Nowitzki concluded.

“The overall effort of the club tonight was tremendous. It was great and deserving of a better outcome,” Carlisle added.

The team returns to the American Airlines Center Tuesday night against ex-Maverick Tyson Chandler and the New York Knicks. The Mavs fell to a 104-97 defeat in New York on Feb. 19. The game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest and nationally on NBA TV at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.

“Tomorrow’s a big game for us and we’ve got to bounce back,” Terry said while looking ahead. “We’re optimistic and we believe that we can get it done.”

Single-game tickets are on sale and available at the American Airlines Center North Box Office, online at mavs.com, via phone by calling 214-747-MAVS or 1-800-4NBA-TIX and all Ticketmaster outlets (Fiesta Grocery Stores, Wal-Mart, Simon Mall in Garland and the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano).

Single-game tickets are on sale and available at the American Airlines Center North Box Office, online at mavs.com, via phone by calling 214-747-MAVS or 1-800-4NBA-TIX and all Ticketmaster outlets (Fiesta Grocery Stores, Wal-Mart, Simon Mall in Garland and the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano).