Dallas opened the game looking very crisp and very dominant. At one point in the 1st quarter they had a commanding 8 point lead and it appeared as if they were going to take that and ride it home. They could hardly miss in the first, as they shot over 80% at 14 out of 17 from the field. But it was as if their lead evaporated all in one moment as the Thunder came roaring back. The score was 37-30 Dallas nearing the end of the 1st when the Thunder run started with a Kevin Durant bucket followed by a 3 from Eric Maynor with 1.9 left. Then to open the second quarter Nick Collison had a quick 8 points and just like that the Mavs' found themselves on the bitter end of a 16 to 3 run that left the Mavs' trailing by 8 at halftime.
When Dallas comes out from halftime they are usually coached up and ready to play. But the last couple games against the Magic and Thunder it seemed to me that the Mavs' weren't ready to come out play hard. What happened was Dallas lost ground in the third and even though they started shooting better and getting more aggressive they could not play defense. Every shot taken by the Thunder seemed to fall home without even thinking about the rim. But to the Mavs' credit they played hard enough to fall behind by 16 and only trial going into the fourth by 9.
It was the 4th quarter that really was the most frustrating. I mean, don't get me wrong, Dallas should never fall behind by 16 at home EVER...to any team. And it was extremely frustrating to watch them let the game get out of hand the way they did. It didn't take long for the Mavericks to fall behind by as many as 19 midway through the final quarter. It was tough to watch...I found myself flipping between this beatdown and the beatdown that Duke was giving to West Virginia. But I flipped back to the Mavs' and saw an incredible spirit arise that just hadn't been there since the beginning of the game. With 6:26 remaining and the Mavs' down by 19 Dirk Nowitzki hit a jumper for his 24th point; then Jason Kidd applied full court pressure on the inbounds pass and stole it for a Najera layup; then with more full court press Kidd took the ball away from Hardin one more time and with 6:17 left the Mavs' had just cut the deficit down to 13...in 9 seconds. Pretty impressive. But I would have been more impressed if the lead was cut from 12 to 6 or from 8 to 2...but 19 to 13 isn't going to help you that much...they needed a great deal more.
The problem was they actually got a great deal more. Thats what made it so frustrating. Over the course of 3:46 seconds the Mavericks played unbelievable basketball. It was unreal. Starting with the sequence above the Mavs' went on a 17-2 run and cut the lead to a mere 4 points at 110-106 with Dirk free throws. And pretty much every possession during that time was run through Dirk. They got him the ball in the post and let him work his magic. He scored 8 of those 17 points and 10 in the 4th overall. He also had an assist during the run and a couple of great rebounds and defensive plays. But then something happened that troubled me and frustrated me. They stopped running the offense through Dirk. I was confused when I saw Dirk calling for the ball and then not getting it.
The score was 112-106 with 2:30 to go. The play they decide to run, isn't "get Dirk the ball" play...but get Eddie Najera the ball and let him drive into the paint only to commit a most heinous turnover by throwing the ball out of bounds over Caron Butlers un-expecting hands. So instead of pulling to within 4 or even 3 they gave the Thunder more free throws. Their lead swelled back up to seven. Then Dirk had a really nice pass again to get them to within 5 at 113-108. But then J.J. Barea went 1 of 2 from the line leaving the Mavs' down 4 instead of down only 3. There is a huge difference at this juncture in the game between 1 possession and two. See, instead of Barea making the free throw and forcing the Thunder to either call a timeout to advance the ball and set up a play, or just inbound the ball and give the Mavs' time to set up their defense; what happened was they took the rebound from the missed free throw and with 28.9 seconds left Eric Maynor hit a clutch 3 to pretty much finish off the Mavs'. Although Dallas would push and try really hard to get this one...even when Roddy B scored and then Durant missed 2 free throws giving them another opportunity to make it a one possession game, Roddy B turned the ball over. From there Durant makes the free throws and Kidd hit his patented toe on the line 2, and then Collison made free throws and Najera hit a 3...but time would be against them. Down 5 with 7.4 seconds left is hard to overcome, and the Mavs' had no timeouts to boot.
So in the end they could not pull off another 4th quarter comeback even though they tried extremely hard to. I believe if they had started the comeback with another minute on the clock they would have been able to pull this one out of the hat. But it wasn't meant to be. Therefore the Mavs' after winning 13 straight a couple of weeks ago have fallen to 5 - 6 in their last 11 games. 4 of those losses have come at home...not cool. This leaves Dallas in a 4-way tie for second place in the Western Conference with Denver, Phoenix, and Utah. Dallas holds the tie breakers over Phoenix and Denver, and Denver has the tie breaker over the Jazz; therefore the Mavs' would remain at the 2 if everyone stays tied. Utah is the only team that can dethrone the Mavs' in a one on one tie breaker. So for the Mavs' to remain on top of the West and avoid falling all the way down to the 4 or 5 spot will need to play at their best the next couple of weeks. With only 5 games remaining and one of them @Portland, which lately has meant a for sure loss for the Mavs', things are going to take shape and Dallas does not want to get stuck in the Middle of the pack. They MUST separate themselves into that top 2 spot to ensure their playoff hopes will be given a chance. And the time is now, they play Memphis next Wednesday...after three full days rest. Do you know what the Mavs' record is after three days rest this season? At last glance...11 and 3. 11 and 2 before last Wednesdays win over Memphis. So time to start the playoffs...for Dallas every game from here on out needs playoff intensity.
Nowitzki ended up with a great game, 30 points, 13 rebounds, and a catalyst for the rest of the guys. Jason Kidd also had a great one with 24 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals. But the guys who really needed to play well tonight other than the two above did not. Jason Terry was almost a non-factor, he stunk it up with a 2-10 shooting night, and 0-6 from three-point land with only 4 points. Caron Butler had only 8 points on 3-11 shooting. Not good. He really needs to pick up his game around here. Shawn Marion was limited tonight due to an injury to his oblique muscle in the first half. He only played 15 minutes. Brenden Haywood had a solid 9 points on 3-3 but couldn't rebound the ball whereas Damp was rebounding well, but not scoring. These guys need to come together and start playing well...Dirk cannot score 30 a night alone. He will score 30 a night in the playoffs, thats just who he is. He will elevate his game when the time comes, but he's going to need Butler and Terry to pull their weight on the offensive end. Kidd cannot be asked to score more than 10 points a game. But lately he's had to put up alot of shots because he and Dirk are the only ones capable of hitting anything but air. Butler NEEDS to find his groove and Terry needs to take the mask off and start playing consistent basketball if this team wants to get a good seed in the playoffs and make a run at a Championship. No one believes anyone other than the Lakers and Cavs have a shot this year. But I believe Dallas could win the West because I think the Lakers are beatable...problem is, Dallas needs to play solid night in and night out...this Jekyll and Hyde crap cannot be the identity of a Championship team. They need to get things right...and they need to start now!
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