The Oklahoma City and Dallas Mavericks meet at American Airlines Center on Thursday night for Game 3 with the first-round Western Conference Playoff series tied at 1-1.
The Thunder were shocked at home on Tuesday night after their last-minute heroics were disallowed, falling 85-84 to the Mavericks. Kevin Durant led the team in scoring with 21 points, hauling in 9 rebounds in the process, but suffered through a woeful shooting night from the paint, going 7 of 33. Durant didn't have any better luck from beyond the arc, shooting 2 of 11, indicative of the entire unit's issues from downtown, from where they shot an average of 21.9%. Russell Westbrook finished the night with 19 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists, faring slightly better than Durant in going 8 of 22 from field goal range. Serge Ibaka scored 12 points, had 8 boards and drained a pair of triples in a defeat that came just two days after Oklahoma City recorded their biggest postseason victory in franchise history. After averaging the regular season with a 47.6% shooting shooting average from the field, good enough for third-best in the league, the team saw out Tuesday night at 33.7%
The Mavericks entered Tuesday's contest as 14-point underdogs, yet managed to eke out a win, in large part due to the performance of Raymond Felton, who posted 21 points and 11 rebounds, forcing 4 turnovers and shooting 8 of 16 from the field and 4 of 7 from the free throw line. Dirk Nowitzki put up 17 points and 4 boards, going 7 of 19 from the paint, while Salah Mejri emerged off the pine for 12 points and 2 of 4 shooting from the charity stripe. Nowitzki bruised his right knee during a fall in the victory and may miss Thursday's outing, joining the likes of J.J. Barea and Deron Williams, who will also sit out the game with a groin strain and sports hernia, respectively. Dallas returns home for Game 3 hoping to advance past the first round of the Playoffs for the first time since 2011, when they bested the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. The Mavs were swept by the Thunder in four games the following year.
