Mavs Pull Ahead in Game 3

by terah on 22. May, 2011 in Featured

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA (NEWSTABULOUS) – The Dallas Mavericks lead the Western Conference finals 2-1 after their 93-87 win over the OKC Thunder Saturday Night.

The Mavericks dominated early leading by as many as 20 points in the first half. The Thunder battled back in the second half but their energy came too late for them to pull off the win.

Dirk Nowitzki finished the game with 18 points. Shawn Marion also scored 18 points, and Jason Kidd and Jason Terry each chipped in 13. Tyson Chandler was a big help to the win having 15 rebounds, including six on the offensive end.

NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant also struggled from the field, hitting only 7 of 22 shots to end with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Russell Westbrook responded to a fourth-quarter benching during Game 2 with 30 points, helping the Thunder rally from 23 points down to give his team a shot in the final minutes.

Westbrook continued the comeback in the fourth by exploiting a match-up against J.J. Barea to get to the rim and the foul line repeatedly. He had the first eight points in a 10-2 run for Oklahoma City, with Harden’s two free throws getting the deficit down to 80-74 with 5:36 to play.

Westbrook and Daequan Cook each fell short on 3-pointers that could’ve took the Thunder within three, and Westbrook then lost the ball out of bounds before Jason Terry’s jumper pulled the advantage to 86-78 with 1:42 remaining.

Game 4 will be played in Oklahoma on Monday, May 23 at 9 p.m. ET.

If you would like to watch the game highlights please visit this link:

http://www.nba.com/video/channels/playoffs/2011/05/21/0041000313_dal_okc_1h.nba

photo:blogs.dallasobserver.com