Western Conference Finals Game 4 Recap

Almost always when a team in the NBA has a 15 point lead with less than 5 minutes to go the game is over. Somebody forgot to tell the Mavericks that as they made an improbable comeback to force overtime where they prevailed, beating the Thunder 112-105 to take a resounding 3-1 series lead.

For over 3 and a half quarters the Mavs were being totally outplayed, being destroyed on the boards and allowing OKC to shoot over 50% from the field. From that point on the Mavs turned on the defensive screws and went to who else but Dirk on offense who turned yet again another amazing performance. Dirk scored 12 of his 40 points in the Mavs 17-2 run to close regulation, hitting tough shots and 2 free throws to tie the game with 6 seconds to go. After that all the Thunder could muster was a 30 footer by Kevin Durant which was blocked by Shawn Marion who played tremendous defense on Durant during the stretch.

After never leading in regulation the Mavs never trailed in overtime taking the lead on a Jason Kidd 3 with 40 seconds left. Kidd has another tremendous outing filled with clutch plays to go along 17 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Also giving a major contribution for Dallas was Jason Terry who contributed 20 points off the bench.

The Thunder were led by Durant who had 29 points and 15 rebounds but had 9 turnovers and struggled down the stretch. Also struggling in crunch time was Russell Westbrook who 19 points, 8 boards and 8 assists, but was just 7-22 from the field and had 6 of the Thunder's 25 turnovers.

The Mavs were able to take the game despite being totally dominated on the boards , getting outrebounded 55-33 for the game. Thankfully Dallas was able to clean up the defensive glass late leading to the amazing comeback.

For the Mavericks it was just another incredible playoff performance in a postseason that so far erased a lot of past demons and shown that no matter the final outcome this team truly has the heart of a champion.

Mavs vs. Thunder Game 4 Preview

Dallas Mavericks at Oklahoma City Thunder

Western Conference Finals Game 4
Mavs lead series 2-1

Mon. May 23 8:00 at the Oklahoma City Arena

TV: ESPN

Series results

Game 1: Mavs 121 Thunder 112 at Dallas

Game 2: Thunder 106 Mavs 100 at Dallas

Game 3: Mavs 93 Thunder 87 at OKC

Series leaders

Mavs

PPG: Dirk Nowitzki, 31.7

RPG: Tyson Chandler, 12.0

APG: Jason Kidd, 8.7

Thunder

PPG: Kevin Durant, 29.3

RPG: Durant, 7.7

APG: Durant, 4.7

Mavericks previous Game West Finals Game 4 Results

1988: Mavs 118 Lakers 104

2003: Spurs 102 Mavs 95

2006: Suns 106 Mavs 86

Notes: The Mavericks have won a franchise record 4 straight playoff road games and 8 of 9 games overall. Dallas has won all 3 games they have played this season in Oklahoma City. In the Dirk era the team that wins game three of a playoff series tied at 1-1 has gone on to win the series every time. The Thunder have not lost consecutive game during the entire playoffs.

Western Conference Finals Game 3 Recap

There are certain things an NBA championship team must be able to do. They must be able to win important games on the road no matter how hostile the crowd. A champion must be able to play great defense no matter the talent an offense presents on the court. Also a champion needs a superstar player who can carry the team when it needs to be, but also his teammates must at times carry him when that star has an off night. If Saturday night's was any indication the Mavericks might be on there way to becoming a champion at last.

Despite an off shooting night from Dirk Nowitzki(7-21, 18 points, 7 TO) the Mavs retook home court from Oklahoma City with a 93-87 win in Game 3 of the West Finals for a 2-1 series advantage. After not preforming to their defensive standards of the first two rounds in Games 1 and 2 the Mavs rediscovered their defensive intensity early jumping out to a 23 point lead in the first half, thereby quieting the arena and giving the home fans very little to cheer about. Leading the Mavs effort were Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion who played well on both sides of the ball. Marion tied Dirk for the team high in points with 18 while Kidd contributed an all around fantastic game with 13 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals.

The Mavs led by Marion held Kevin Durant to a 7-22 shooting performance including going 0-8 on threes for 24 points. In fact the entire Oklahoma City was ice cold from the field shooting .365% from the field and an embarrassing 1-17 from 3 including missing their first 16 shots from distance.

The Thunder did have their inevitable 4th quarter rally cutting the lead to 6 with under 3 minutes to go. The Mavericks showed once again that they have put Game 4 in Portland behind them and behind clutch shots and free throws by the duo of Dirk and Jason Terry(13 points, 6 assists) and key stops on defense help off the Thunder charge despite some questionable officiating.

Russell Westbrook responded to this 4th quarter benching in Game 2 with a Thunder high of 30 points, but struggled to help his teammates much with only 4 assists compared to 7 turnovers. While Kidd might not have the speed and athleticism anymore of a young player like Westbrook he can help his team in so many more areas by thinking the game as well as just about any player in history.

Tyson Chandler continued to show the Thunder what they missed out when they rescinded the trade they made for him 2 years ago. He contributed 8 points and 15 boards and left Oklahoma City so frustrated by his play they resorted to basically trying to draw technicals against them, as they did when James Harden ridiculously flopped on minimal contact.

Speaking of Harden after his incredible game 2 he was held almost completely in check going 2-9 from the field for only 7 points. Just another way the Dallas defense befuddled the usually potent Thunder attack.

Now it is on to the always pivotal game 4 where they know they will see a hungrier and more desperate Oklahoma City squad show up as they try to avoid losing 2 straight for the first time all postseason.

As long as the Mavs bring the defensive effort to go along what should be a bounce back game for Dirk, they should be in good shape to possibly go to 4-0 in OKC this year and go back home to clinch a Finals berth in Game 5.

Dirk Is Staying

Maverick superstar Dirk Nowitzki agreed to a new four year contact for over 80 million dollars on Saturday. Dirk could have made more but decided to take less to give the team more financial flexibility to acquire a big name acquisition. The contract makes Nowitzki one of only two players in the NBA with a no-trade clause joining Kobe Bryant. Dirk opted out of the final year of his previous contract to become a free agent.

Mavs Draft Review

When the Mavericks were left without a fist round pick in this year's draft due to the Jason Kidd trade they went out and bought one. Dallas paid 3 million dollars to Memphis for the rights of the 25th overall pick, Dominique Jones a guard from South Florida. Jones was one of the best scorers in college basketball last year averaging over 21 points a game. The strongest are of his game is getting to the rim as he averaged 8.5 free throw attempts a game. The Mavericks traded their #50 overall pick, Florida St. Center Solomon Alabi to Toronto for a 2013 2nd rounder and cash.

All in all it seems to be an excellent night for the Mavs as they were able to get a player who can help right away and all they had to do was pay Mark Cuban's money for him. It is yet another example of Cuban's commitment to this franchise.

News and notes

Roddy Beaubois has been named to the French national team for this summer's World Championships. He should see plenty of playing time with Tony Parker sitting out the games. J.J. Barea will play for Puerto Rico. The Mavericks are working on a contract extension with Dirk Nowitzki, who can opt for free agency. Nowitzki was named 2nd team all-NBA, the 10th straight year he has been selected to an all-NBA squad. He has been 1st team 4 times, 2nd team 4 times and 3rd team twice. Jason Kidd confirms he was sick during the Spurs series, but will not use it as an excuse.

Conference Finals predictions

West: Lakers in 5

East: Magic in 6

Mavericks vs. Spurs game 6 review

The Mavericks season ended Thursday night with a 97-87 defeat to the Spurs. The Spurs won the series in 6 games, taking all three in San Antonio.

The Mavs fell behind early, trailing 22-8 after one and by as much as 22 points. The team battled back to take a lead in the third but were outplayed in the fourth once again.

Dirk led the way for the Mavs scoring 33 despite picking up 4 first half fouls. Caron Butler added 25 and Roddy Beaubois took advantage of rare playing time with 16. Once again however the two Jasons, Kidd and Terry combined for only 5 points on 2-13 shooting.

Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 26 points. George Hill had 21 and Tim Duncan had a double-double of 17 and 10 rebounds.

The Spurs will move on to face Phoenix in the next round while the Mavs head for another offseason that will start way too early.