It was all a blur. The missed Raymond Felton free throw. The Kevin Durant rebound and outlet pass to Russell Westbrook. Westbrook’s dish to Durant, the ball grazing the rim twice and then it all stopped. Steven Adams had the ball in his hands, right next to the rim. The red lights that surround the backboard lit up, the ball banked off the glass and into the basket, and after the initial roar, there was a deafening hush inside Chesapeake Energy Arena.
The referees went to the monitor, and after a review it was crystal, but painfully clear. Adams’ tip-in came a tenth of a second after the buzzer sounded, and Game 2 ended with the Thunder falling 85-84 to the Dallas Mavericks.
“It was a really physical game for both teams,” Head Coach Billy Donovan said. “We just didn’t have a great shooting night. We were able to hang around and stay in the game with our defense.”
It was a back-and-forth contest all night, with 17 lead changes and 10 ties, in a complete reversal of Game 1’s blowout. A game of runs seemed to be in the cards from the very outset, when the Mavericks jumped out to an eight-point lead in the first quarter, which was slowly chipped away by the Thunder’s determined defense. The Thunder build an eight point lead in the third quarter, but by the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Thunder clung to a 63-59 edge.
“It was a game of runs,” guard Dion Waiters said. “There were a lot of emotions and a lot going on. They came out and made shots. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy walking into this game.”
The game was for the taking mid-way through the final frame, with the Thunder trailing 69-68 with 8:37 to go. Nearly a minute passed before anyone scored, but as Waiters split a double team at the left angle and dashed to the rim, a seam suddenly broken open for the Thunder. Waiters banked in his runner, plus a foul shot for an old-fashioned 3-point play.
“If I’m going downhill, it’s hard on the big,” Waiters explained. “I’m putting pressure on him and am just trying to be aggressive and make the right play.”
Donovan’s club then pounced. Westbrook hit Durant for a transition dunk after an Enes Kanter steal, then Westbrook scrambled under the basket to kick out to Serge Ibaka for three, putting the Thunder up 76-69 with 6:47 to go.
It seemed that was the Thunder’s moment to seize control. After a Mavericks timeout, it was clear that this game was still going to be a dog fight. In fact, behind Wesley Matthews and Raymond Felton, the Mavericks went on a 10-2 run to re-take the lead, setting up an excruciating final three minutes.
“Felton made a big (jumper), and they were able to go on a run there to take the lead,” Donovan said.
The Thunder couldn’t’ get anything to fall, as Durant missed three jumpers and turned it over and Westbrook missed a three. Finally, trailing 85-81, Durant drained a three-pointer, one of just two makes for him in the fourth quarter. That set up the wild final 7.5 seconds, when unfortunately the Thunder needed 7.6.
The Thunder’s defense was stout again tonight, although not quite as suffocating as it was in the 108-70 Game 1 rout on Saturday night. For the evening, the Mavericks shot just 42.7 percent from the field, including 5-for-19 (26.3 percent). Deron Williams got hot early from behind the arc, but after the 5:36 mark in the first quarter the Mavericks shot just 1-for-15 from deep.
“Our defense gave us a chance,” Donovan explained. “To shoot the percentage we shot, 33 percent and 21 from the three-point line, is a good message or lesson for our guys going forward about our defense continuing to grow.”
The issue for the Thunder tonight was on offense, mostly just finishing shots rather than a holistic schematic issue. For as many times as the Thunder posted up Durant and Westbrook and there wasn’t much backside movement, there were just as many if not more times where excellent Thunder ball movement resulted in a missed jumper from the perimeter. For the night, the Thunder shot just 33.7 percent, including 7-for-32 (21.9 percent) from three-point range while turning the ball over 15 times.
Thunder Highlights:
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Durant's Tough Shooting Night
When Durant walked back into the locker room postgame, veteran guard Randy Foye noticed something he didn’t expect. A smile on the Thunder All-Star’s face. Despite just shooting 7-for-33 and the Thunder dropping Game 2, Durant was positive, steadfast even, in his confidence. All Durant told his teammates was that he is ready to get back to work at practice on Tuesday.
“We have the utmost confidence in Kevin,” Foye said. “7-for-33? We know he won’t shoot like that again. He’s a tough individual.”
All night long, Durant had post up looks, catch-and-shoots from behind the three-point line and floaters in the paint. Shots that he normally makes, not just at a decent level, at a historic level. Once again this season, Durant nearly broke into the hallowed 50-40-90 club for shooting percentages. With the smaller Wesley Matthews guarding him, Durant was able to fire off shots without a hand in his face. Tonight, unlike nearly every game of his career, the ball simply rimmed out over and over.
“It was a bad shooting night for me,” Durant said. “I wish it didn’t happen tonight, but it’s a part of it. I got some great looks all night, I just didn’t knock them down.”
“Everything looked good for me,” Durant continued. “Coach (Donovan) drew up some great plays, my teammates set some great screens and Russell delivered the ball perfectly. It’s on me after that.”
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By the Numbers
14 – Rebounds for Russell Westbrook on the night to go with 21 points, six assists and two steals
42.7 – Shooting percentage the Thunder held the Mavericks to tonight, including just a 5-for-19 mark from the three-point line
54-45 – The Thunder’s rebounding advantage, including 19 offensive rebounds that led to 19 second chance points- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Last Word
“We’ll get back to the drawing board, look at the film, see what we can get better at and go on the road. It’s a series, first team to four. We’ve won in Dallas before so we’ll go in with a positive mindset to take care of business.” – point guard Russell Westbrook