Mar 17, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) shoots against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder completed their season series sweep of the Dallas Mavericks last night beating them 107-101 in Dallas to improve to 50-17 on the year.

The game was tight throughout but Russell Westbrook was playing so well that it was hard to imagine the Thunder losing.

The Thunder reserves didn’t show up quite as much as they do when they’re at home so Dallas was able to make this a game. The Thunder also only made 5-of-21 threes in the game.

Here are the Game Grades:

Kevin Durant – 39 minutes, 31 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist – A-

Durant showed why he is the best closer in the league scoring 19 points in the fourth last night. Early in the quarter he scored an and-one on a drive to the hoop and yelled, “Give me the ball” after the play. He had some kind of chip on his shoulder down the stretch and it took him to another level. Durant had turnover problems again however with six in the game to just one assist. He now has four assists and 20 turnovers in the last three games.

Russell Westbrook – 37 minutes, 35 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds – A

Westbrook was a monster in this one finishing at the rim especially. He went 13-for-23 from the field for the game but was 0-for-4 on threes. He scored 13 in the first quarter then 15 in the third. It was an under controlled penetrating Westbrook which is always the best one. He also managed three offensive rebounds but did have five turnovers.

Serge Ibaka – 40 minutes, 18 points, 16 rebounds, 3 blocks – A+

Ibaka was the perfect complement to Durant and Westbrook last night. The Thunder needed someone else to step up and Ibaka did just that. He went 7-for-11 from the field and had seven offensive rebounds. His offensive game has been developing rapidly lately and you can see his confidence growing game to game.

Kevin Martin – 24 minutes, 9 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound – C+

Martin only played half of the game as once again Thabo Sefolosha closed instead of him. He went 1-for-4 from three but was 3-for-5 on two-pointers and picked up a couple of assists. He’s been playing better lately, doing more things on offense but his minutes have also been dropping.

Kendrick Perkins – 28 minutes, 1 point, 6 rebounds, 1 block – C

Perkins did not have a big game last night and didn’t get a lot of minutes as Ibaka played a ton. Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting so Perkins didn’t exactly shut him down. Perkins had the worst plus-minus on the Thunder last night too. It feels like it’s been awhile since we’ve said that though to be fair.

Thabo Sefolosha – 28 minutes, 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists – B

Sefolosha is getting more minutes than Martin these days and he has been doing fine with the extra time. He didn’t hit any threes last night but helped out in other ways that we’re used to seeing from him.

Nick Collison – 18 minutes, 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists – B+

Collison usually plays a lot against Dallas because he’s great at defending Dirk. He didn’t get a ton of run last night but was solid while he was out there. You have to love seeing him get a few assists which is always key for the second unit.

Reggie Jackson – 13 minutes, 3 points, 2 assists, 1 steal – C+

Jackson has cooled off from his hot run a week or so ago. He went just 1-for-4 from the field and 1-for-3 from downtown, although the make was a crazy shot and one of his three-point misses was from beyond half court. He just didn’t have a lot of opportunities to create much last night and was quiet overall.

Derek Fisher – 12 minutes, 2 points, 1 assist, 1 rebound – C

Fisher did very little in his time on the court and missed the only three-pointer he took. He also committed three fouls in just 12 minutes.

Mar 17, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) drives against Dallas Mavericks guard Vince Carter (25) at the American Airlines Center. The Thunder beat the Mavs 107-101. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

It was a spirited, fierce clash of Western Conference foes when the Oklahoma Thunder and Dallas Mavericks met on Sunday, with these two squads keeping it close wire-to-wire in exciting fashion. When the final buzzer sounded, OKC emerged the victor, winning 107-101 in front of a vibrant Dallas crowd.

Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 35 points, and Kevin Durant dished out another 31. Serge Ibaka posted a double-double effort, with 18 points and 16 rebounds.

For Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki spearheaded the charge, dropping 23 points on the Thunder. Four other Mavericks scored in double figures, including Vince Carter, who had 18.

The Thunder led the Mavericks through all four quarters, but Dallas nipped at OKC’s heels trailing by no more than two at the end of each quarter until the end.

Durant was unusually cold early on Sunday, making just 3 of 9 shots from the floor before catching fire in the fourth quarter. He hit seven shots in a row, recording 19 of his 31 points in the final period and helping to close out this game in OKC’s favor.

Nowitzki sank a pair of clutch free throws as the game drew closer to the wire, tying it at 101 with under two minutes to play. Oklahoma City however would not back down; Westbrook drilled a 17-footer to put the Thunder up two, and on the following play for Dallas, Mike James’ put up a desperation shot that resulted in a shot-clock violation when Durant got a hand on it and blocked it.

After Nowitzki’s free throws, Dallas failed to get on the board again. The Thunder however kept on rolling, and ultimately pushed their lead to six points, their biggest lead of the night.

The Thunder advance to 50-17 on the season with the win, while the Mavericks fall to 31-35. Oklahoma City takes on the Atlanta Hawks next, on Mon., March 18.

Feb 4, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Nick Collison (4) attempts a shot against Dallas Mavericks forward Brandan Wright (34) during the second half at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks will meet for the fourth and final time this season in Dallas at 7:30 p.m. EST.

The Thunder have won all three previous meetings this season and will look for their 50th win of the season tonight as well.

The Thunder have looked very good in their last two games averaging 113.5 points per game. OKC is averaging 113.3 points per game vs. the Mavericks this season.

Kevin Durant is averaging 37.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game vs. Dallas on the year. Russell Westbrook is averaging 23.7 points and 7.7 assists per game.

Durant, Westbrook and Serge Ibaka all scored over 20 points in the Thunder’s win two nights ago vs. the Orlando Magic. The bench of the Thunder has looked sharp as of late as well.

It’s always hard to beat a team four times in one season no matter who they are and Dallas has been getting their act together lately too, winning six of their last eight games.

The Thunder have not been at their best away from home this year either. They are just 19-13 on the year on the road compared to 30-4 at home.

It’s usually the bench and Westbrook whose production dips away from Chesapeake Energy Arena. Durant may need to have one of his bigger scoring outputs for the Thunder to win tonight, something he’s had no problem doing vs. Dallas this season.

OKC has done a great job containing Dirk Nowitzki in the season series holding him to just 12.3 points per game and 26.8 percent field goal shooting. Dirk is coming off a tough game last Friday night too in which he scored just 13 points vs. Cleveland and went 6-for-17 from the field.

The Thunder would get their third win in a row if they beat Dallas tonight and also their eighth win in nine games.

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder blew out the Dallas Mavericks last night 112-91 at home to improve to 36-12 on the year.

This was the third time this season that the Thunder beat the Mavericks. The first two times, OKC needed overtime to do so each time.

The Thunder shot 51 percent through three quarters and led by 25 then sat their starters for the entire fourth.

Dallas shot just 41.4 percent from the field for the game and made 3-of-16 threes.

The Thunder will be off tonight and then will host the Golden State Warriors Wednesday night for their next game.

Here are the Game Grades:

Kevin Durant – 28 minutes, 19 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists – B+

Durant ends his streak of 23 straight games with scoring at least 20 points this season. He didn’t need to play a lot which is probably a good thing since he entered the game with a rib contusion. He started and looked himself for the most part but did appear a little flat at times elevating. It didn’t affect his production though.

Russell Westbrook – 29 minutes, 24 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds – A

Westbrook was under control and calculating as he attacked the Dallas defense with relative ease. The pull-up jumper was there and he was splitting the pick-and-roll and penetrating to the rack over and over again. This was one of the better Westbrook games this season and OKC is always better when he plays like this, without forcing anything.

Serge Ibaka – 27 minutes, 12 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block – B

Ibaka shot well and even hit a three in the game. He seems to be trying to drive to the rim more lately which is the next step in expanding his game. It’s been working pretty well and resulting in more free throw attempts too.

Kevin Martin – 22 minutes, 17 points, 1 assist, 2 steals – A

Martin was very aggressive looking for his shot. He was knocking down threes as he made 3-of-5 and that opened up the rest of his game. He caught a nice alley-oop in transition from Westbrook and made a nice feed in the second half to Nick Collison in a half court set.

Kendrick Perkins – 22 minutes, 7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists – A-

You can’t deny anymore that Perkins has been playing very well of late. He shot well again last night making 2-of-3 field goals. He didn’t commit any turnovers and was a force on the defensive end.

Thabo Sefolosha – 25 minutes, 7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals – B

Sefolosha was fantastic defensively as always. On offense, he was really looking for his shot but went just 1-for-6 from downtown. It didn’t matter as he still made other things happen.

Nick Collison – 15 minutes, 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists – B+

Collison was basically a monster last night. He never makes mistakes and it’s hard to not think of what he does as absolutely perfect.

Reggie Jackson – 21 minutes, 8 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds – A+

This was Jackson’s best game of the year by far. He looked very comfortable and decisive running the offense. He made 2-of-5 threes and the six dimes is a season-high. Jackson helped spearhead a great effort overall by the Thunder bench.

Hasheem Thabeet – 11 minutes, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks – A+

This was also one of Thabeet’s best performances of the year. When he checked in, he immediately started grabbing rebounds. Then he started scoring including a nice little midrange jumper that looked very comfortable for him. The three blocks were the icing on the cake.

DeAndre Liggins – 12 minutes, 5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist – A

One of the underrated things that Liggins has been doing a great job of lately has been passing. He’s always moving the ball around quickly and had a great dime to Thabeet inside for a dunk last night.

Perry Jones, III – 10 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound – D

Jones missed all four of his shots including getting blocked on a dunk attempt. He was about the only Thunder player who didn’t have it going.

Eric Maynor – 9 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound – C

Maynor got into the game for the first time in awhile. He knocked down a deep three but that was about it.

Daniel Orton – 8 minutes, 0 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist – B

We haven’t seen Orton in awhile either. He had two offensive boards and looked pretty solid out there running the floor and setting screens. He looks like he could definitely have a future with this team sometime.

Feb 4, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins (5) handles the ball against Dallas Mavericks center Bernard James (5) during the first half at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder avoided a third consecutive overtime match with the Dallas Mavericks by absolutely blowing them out 112-91 on Monday.

Russell Westbrook let the effort with 24 points and Kevin Durant had double-double figures, 19 points and 10 rebounds.

In the previous two matches, the Mavericks went toe-to-toe with the Thunder but this time they stood no chance. After falling behind by only seven after the first quarter, Dallas let the game get dramatically out of reach. Oklahoma City hit 12 of its first 16 shots in the second quarter and had outscored Dallas 21-1 on the fast break by the time Durant bounced a pass to Kevin Martin–who had 17 points off the bench–for a layup to put Oklahoma City up 61-34. Oklahoma City led by at least 20 throughout the second half (including a high of 33 points in the fourth quarter), and sat all of its starters for the entirety of the final quarter.

For Dallas, Shawn Marion had an incredible game and was the only positive aspect of their performance. He hit 10 of 14 shots for 23 points. Conversely, Dirk Nowitzski was dreadfully cold, making only 3 of 10 of his attempts for 10 points. Vince Carter is out with an illness and did not play, giving him his first missed game of the season.

Though the game was never close, it did get testy. Kendrick Perkins and O.J. Mayo got in each others’ faces and had to be separated, and referee Ken Mauer issued a technical foul against Perkins after reviewing the altercation. Durant also got himself T’d up for gesturing at the ref, tying for an NBA high of nine technicals this season.

The Thunder have now beat the Mavericks 10 of 11 times since Dallas beat them in the 2011 Western Conference finals en route to the NBA championship, including a four-game sweep of the Mavs in last year’s playoffs.

The Thunder–who traded a few wins and losses over their past nine games, but have only recorded back to back losses one time this season–advance to 36-12 on the year. They challenge the Golden State Warriors next on Wed., Feb. 6.

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder will take on the Dallas Mavericks for the third time this season tonight at 8 p.m. EST at Chesapeake Arena.

The Thunder beat the Mavericks in each of the first two meeting but needed overtime both times to do so.

On Dec. 27, the Thunder won 111-105 in OKC. The game went into overtime thanks to a desperation 3-pointer by Darren Collison as time expired in regulation.

Kevin Durant had 40 points, eight rebounds and five assists in that game. He went 13-for-28 from the field, 4-for-8 from three and 10-for-10 from the line. He didn’t score in overtime however.

Russell Westbrook had 16 points and 10 assists. He went just 7-for-20 from the field but scored eight points in overtime.

Serge Ibaka and Kevin Martin each had nice games as well. Ibaka had 19 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks and Martin had 18 off the bench.

Collison dominated for Dallas with 32 points in the game. Dirk Nowitzki did not play.

OKC won again 117-114 on Jan. 18 in Dallas. Durant had a career-high 52 points in the game as he shot 13-for-31 from the field and 21-for-21 from the free throw line.

Westbrook 31 points, six assists and six rebounds. Ibaka and Martin each scored 11.

The Mavs were led by Vince Carter who came off the bench to score 29 points on that night.

The Thunder are looking to bounce back from a loss tonight after losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road two nights ago. They were torched by Kyrie Irving who scored 35 points with 13 of them coming in the final three minutes in that game.

The Thunder haven’t won back-to-back games since they beat Dallas on Jan. 18.

Durant injured his ribs in the Cleveland game and was questionable tonight but he has come out and said that he will start tonight.

Dallas has won two of their last five games with both wins coming against the Phoenix Suns. Nowitzki missed the last two games but is expected to return tonight as well.

The Thunder are 20-3 at home this season while the Mavericks are just 8-18 on the road.

The Thunder have lost back-to-back games just once so far this season and they certainly won’t plan to do so again tonight as they begin a 3-game home stand.

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA has fined Dallas Mavericks forward Shawn Marion for his criticism of the referees from Friday night’s game between the Mavs and Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder beat the Mavericks 117-114 in overtime in that game while Kevin Durant scored a career-high 52 points that included 21 trips to the free throw line.

“It’s hard to beat anybody when you’re playing five-on-eight,” Marion told reporters. “That’s nuts. Some of them were fouls. Some of them were questionable. But it is what it is.”

Sure, Durant gets some star treatment. Referees or more ready to blow the whistle when he has the ball and is looking to shoot. That’s the nature of this league and every star player has gotten that treatment before from Michael Jordan to LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki as well.

That’s the most frustrating thing for a defender like Marion. Marion has been one of the best defenders in this league over the past decade and there’s no star treatment for someone like him.

Just watching the game Friday night the calls didn’t seem over the top in favor of Durant. Most of those calls he got Friday night are the same ones he gets all season. Maybe from the Dallas perspective, they seemed unreasonable but that’s how Durant is officiated.

There’s an art to drawing contact and Durant has gotten very good at it. He makes sure you hit him on the arm when he goes up to shoot and he makes sure he gets bumped on the body when he drives the paint. You have to be in very good defensive position to make sure you don’t get called for a foul and that’s hard to do with how long and quick Durant is.

But you just can’t say what Marion did after a game. He knows that and he probably knew the fine would be coming when those words left his mouth. It doesn’t matter who is right here.

We’ve seen this before. Kevin Durant with the ball in his hands and a chance to sink the Dallas Mavericks with a game-winning shot.

Last night, Kevin Durant scored 52 points with the final two resulting in a game-winning bucket as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks 117-114 in overtime.

Durant was isolated with Shawn Marion covering him at the end of the overtime. He crossed over to his left then hit a tough one-handed fall away with 16 seconds left to put the Thunder up 116-114. It was a shot that looked just like this one that he hit in Game 1 of the Thunder’s first round series with Dallas last season.

The degree of difficulty on the game-winner last night is extremely high but Durant makes it look easy. Moving to his left then compensating with contact and the shot dropping in with that kind of touch is not easy to pull off.

Durant was actually not as hot from the field as you may think considering he ended up with a career-high. He made just 13-of-31 shots and really struggled in the fourth quarter. He made up for it however by getting to the line 21 times and making every single free throw.

Durant continues to build on his legacy as one of the most clutch players in this league. Dallas seems to be his favorite team to make victim in this journey.

Durant and the Thunder are now on a 6-game winning streak with their next five games coming up on the road. Durant is averaging 35.6 points per game on 53.6 percent shooting during the win streak.

Here are highlights of all 52 points from Durant last night:

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder will look for its sixth straight victory tonight taking on the Dallas Mavericks on the road at 9:30 p.m. EST.

This is the second time the Thunder and Mavericks will play this season. In the first meeting, the Thunder won in OKC 111-105 in an overtime thriller.

Darren Collison made a very improbable 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into OT. Collison led Dallas with 32 points in the game as he absolutely torched his former college teammate Russell Westbrook in the pick-and-roll.

Westbrook struggled mightily in regulation of that game scoring just eight points. Then he took over in overtime scoring eight more points to lead the Thunder to victory.

Kevin Durant far from struggled as he scored 40 points (all in regulation) on 13-of-28 shooting from the field.

Serge Ibaka had a big game as well for the Thunder with 19 points, 17 rebounds (eight offensive) and five blocks.

The Thunder trailed for almost the entire game and were down by eight entering the fourth quarter before Durant took over. Dallas stayed out in front thanks to some hot shooting from beyond the arc as they made 11-of-24 threes in the game.

The Mavericks had Dirk Nowitzki for that game but he came off the bench and only played 26 minutes. Dirk has been getting more minutes lately and should be a bigger factor tonight.

The Mavericks fell into a slump following the first game vs. the Thunder losing six of their next seven but have since reeled off four straight wins.

Dallas will need more from O.J. Mayo to seriously compete with the Thunder tonight. Mayo has been having a great season but has had some struggles of late, including shooting just 1-of-7 from the field vs. the Thunder.

OKC has been dealing with some injuries recently but is now back to full strength. The defense has been better than it was the first time they played Dallas so don’t expect the same kind of game from Collison.

The game will tip-off at 9:30 p.m. EST and broadcast nationally on ESPN.

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Russell Westbrook had just eight points after the first 48 minutes of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Thursday night home game vs. the Dallas Mavericks. Westbrook then matched those eight points in the five minute overtime period as the Thunder beat the Mavs 111-105.

Westbrook finished with 16 points on 7-for-20 shooting in the game. He scored three field goals in overtime. The first was a backdoor pass he received for a layup. Then he hit a jumper in Dirk Nowitzki’s face. Then he made a big steal and fast break layup.

Kevin Durant led the way in regulation for the Thunder scoring 40 points to go with eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Durant did not score in overtime.

Overtime would not have existed in this game if not for one of the more unlikely 3-point baskets you’ll ever see in an NBA game. Darren Collison caught a pass and shot it in one motion in midair as time expired in the fourth quarter to send the game into an extra frame.

Collison had a season-high 32 points to lead the Mavericks as he torched his former UCLA teammate Westbrook for most of the game.

The Thunder shot just 41.9 percent for the game but grabbed 17 offensive rebounds to help counteract the poor shooting night.

Serge Ibaka collected eight offensive rebounds for the Thunder and finished with 19 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks.

Kevin Martin provided an excellent lift from the bench with 18 points on 2-of-4 shooting from downtown.

The Thunder avoid the 3-game losing streak and are now currently tied with the Los Angeles Clippers for the best record in the NBA.

OKC will play next on the road vs. James Harden and the Houston Rockets Saturday night.

May 5, 2012; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) reacts at the end of the game against Dallas Mavericks guard Vince Carter (25) during game four of the 2012 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center. Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Tonight, the Thunder will look to bounce back from a tough loss to the Miami Heat on Christmas Day and get a win against a decent Dallas Mavericks team on their home court. The Thunder have lost two straight, and don’t want to fall behind the Clippers in the standing with a loss.

The Mavericks are not so hot themselves, losing three straight despite the return of star forward Dirk Nowitzki. Leading the Mavs this year has been O.J Mayo averaging 19.3 points per game and making himself a liable candidate for most improved player.

This will be the first time the two teams meet since the Thunder swept the Mavs in the first round of the playoffs last year.

The two teams started a minor rivalry when the Mavs beat the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals two years ago, and then went on to beat the Heat in the Finals.

Oklahoma City could use a nice bounce back win on National TV against a decent Dallas opponent. The Mavs may not be .500 at a 12-16 record, but they do have some talent across the board.

Can the Thunder use their home crowd and get back on track with a win tonight against the Mavs?

Find out on TNT at 8 PM EST.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

James Harden would become a restricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign a contract extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder before Oct. 31.

The Thunder already signed Serge Ibaka to a contract extension this summer and some think that might make it impossible for OKC to keep Harden as well. Harden would surely have to take less than the max to stay in OKC and while he has said before he’d be willing to sacrifice to stay in OKC, you just never know.

The Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets are two teams that reportedly would be very interested in Harden next summer if he were available. Dallas and Houston would both have the cap space necessary to offer Harden a max offer sheet that is loaded in the front.

Remember what Houston did to the New York Knicks to take Jeremy Lin from them? Basically, if Harden becomes a restricted free agent, he is gone.

Dallas and Houston are fans of Harden too, mainly because he has played very well against them and is such an efficient player overall. Harden had his first coming out party vs. Dallas in the Western Conference Finals in 2011. Then last year in the first round of the playoffs vs. Dallas, Harden averaged 18.3 points, 4.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting .500 percent from the field, .462 from three and .871 at the line.

Against Houston in the regular season last year, Harden played the Rockets four times and averaged 18.0 points 4.3 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game. He shot .479 percent from the field, .435 from three and .889 from the free throw line.

The other team that would obviously also be interested in Harden is the Phoenix Suns, another team Harden killed last year. Harden averaged 26.7 points per game vs. the Suns in three games last season, shot .600 percent from the field and .474 percent from three.

It doesn’t take a genius to see that these three teams would be interested in getting Harden. It’s really up to Harden at the end of the day.

Thunder GM Sam Presti said that both sides are working very hard to get a deal done to keep Harden. Presti said yesterday that it would be very tough to keep Harden but he has been saying that all along.

A time will come soon where Harden sees just how much the Thunder are willing to offer him. He wants to stay in OKC and be with his friends and continue building what they all started. Hopefully that number is enough.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

Dallas Mavericks Team Overview

The defending champs did not put up much of a title defense last season. The Dallas Mavericks finished as the 7-seed in the Western Conference and then got swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.

They weren’t trying to repeat as champions though and instead went in another direction, trying to get into position to land a big name free agent in the future. Dallas let Tyson Chandler and J.J. Barea walk from their title team and seemed to be in a sort of hangover for a lot of the season, especially Dirk Nowitzki.

This offseason Dallas was hoping to lure Deron Williams away from the Brooklyn Nets but failed in doing so as Williams decided to re-sign in Brooklyn. The Mavericks now turn to Dwight Howard who still could become a free agent next summer despite being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason.

It looked for a moment like Dallas would bottom-out next year as their roster was disappearing on them. Jason Terry left for Boston, Jason Kidd left for New York and Brendan Haywood went to Charlotte. The Mavs also lost Lamar Odom, Kelenna Azubuike and Ian Mahinmi from last year’s roster.

Dallas scrounged together some decent talent though to replace what they lost. O.J. Mayo, Chris Kaman, Darren Collison and Elton Brand are the most notable names coming to Dallas next year. The Mavs also drafted three players in Jared Cunningham, Bernard James and Jae Crowder.

They’re not dead yet and while they’ll have a very different look next season, they will still definitely be competing for a playoff spot again.

Last year

The Mavericks and the Thunder played four times in the regular season last year with the Thunder taking the season series 3-1. Then in the playoffs, the Thunder went on to sweep the Mavs in the first round.

Dallas had beaten the Thunder in five games in the Western Conference Finals back in 2011 so it was a big step for the Thunder to overcome the defending champs last season.

Kevin Durant and the Thunder started last season off with a bang beating Dallas 104-102 on Dec. 29 in dramatic fashion. Durant hit this shot at the buzzer to begin what would be a tremendous season for Durant and the Thunder.

Durant averaged 25.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game vs. the Mavs in the regular season.

Russell Westbrook averaged 22.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game against the Mavs. He struggled shooting against them though at just .392 percent.

James Harden averaged 14.3 points, 5.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds against Dallas and also struggled from the field shooting just .390 percent.

When the playoffs came around, Durant started off the series the same way he did against Dallas in their first regular season matchup, hitting this game-winning shot in the final seconds.

Durant would average 26.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game vs. Dallas in the first round. Westbrook averaged 22.3 points in the playoffs and upped his field goal percentage to .453. Harden killed the Mavs in the first round averaging 18.3 points and shooting .500 percent from the field. He completely took over the fourth quarter of Game 4 of that series too to close the door on Dallas.

Dirk dominated the Thunder in 2010-11 but he really slowed down against them last season. He averaged 22.5 points and shot .443 percent from the field against them in the regular season. In the playoffs, Dirk averaged 26.8 points per game, shot .442 percent from the field and just .167 percent from three.

The matchup

Despite having a pretty rocky season, the Mavericks looked like a team that could possible give the Thunder trouble in the playoffs. They played them very close in Game 1 of their series but obviously didn’t have the legs to keep up with the young guns.

Dallas was a team all about execution during the title run in 2011. That still remained in their offense last season as they were fifth best in the league in the pick-and-roll in terms of points per possession. The Thunder struggled somewhat against the pick-and-roll last year and that is an area where Dallas really could have hurt them.

The problem for Dallas was their defense really took a hit with Chandler leaving for New York. They were 28th in the league defending isolation plays but still pretty good against the pick-and-roll, sixth in the league.

Their defense got worse in the playoffs, partly because they were up against one of the most efficient offenses in the league. You don’t have to break down the numbers to realize that OKC outperformed Dallas all over during their 4-game sweep of them.

The Mavs defense did not step up while the Thunder defense did get better come playoff time. That was the formula for the sweep.

Next year

The Thunder and Mavericks were a sort of rivalry these past few seasons but that should be fading next year as the Thunder should continue to get better while Dallas does the opposite.

The teams will play four times next season with the first meeting coming in OKC on Dec. 27. Then they will play in Dallas on Jan. 18, in OKC on Feb. 4 and finally back in Dallas March 17.

It will be very interesting to see how Dallas comes together next season with their new guys and if Dirk can continue playing at an elite level. There are too many variables for Dallas to look at them as a serious challenger to the Thunder though.

OKC should be able to take the season series, probably 3-1 again. There is a chance that the Thunder and Mavericks could meet in the playoffs again. The Thunder are projected to finish as the 1- or 2-seed in the West while Dallas is right in the 6-8 seed range.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

The Dallas Mavericks may become the frontrunner to land Dwight Howard next summer if he is not traded to the Lakers or Nets and becomes a free agent instead, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Howard has said before he would like to test free agency next summer making this point even more impactful for Dallas. Howard does not want to sign an extension with any team he is traded to but would be willing to re-sign if it is the Lakers or Nets.

Dallas owner Mark Cuban broke up a championship team a year ago in hopes of being able to lure Howard and Deron Williams to Dallas in the near future. Cuban struck out with Williams who signed an extension with the Nets this summer and now will focus all of his attention on Howard next summer if he is available.

Orlando Magic GM Rob Hennigan met with Howard Wednesday to discuss his future. Howard made it very clear he does not want to remain part of the Magic organization saying he would “never sign another contract with the Magic,” according to RealGM.

Howard said he would like to either be traded to the Lakers soon, traded to Brooklyn in January or simply become a free agent after the season ends.

The Magic certainly want to get something back for Howard and all his drama and would prefer to trade him. The potential trade with the Lakers would involve the Cleveland Cavaliers as a third team. The Houston Rockets have also still not given up on trying to trade for Howard.

The Lakers would send Andrew Bynum to Cleveland in the potential trade. Bynum was rumored to be meeting with the Lakers to discuss a contract extension for himself but his agent has since denied any such meeting. Bynum seems to have been left in the dark as far as trade talks have gone which may be an indicator of how far away a deal is to be being done.

If somehow Howard is not traded and remains with the Magic for all of next season then the Mavericks will really have a chance to sign him in the summer. But if Howard is dealt to either the Lakers or Nets, we can fully expect him to stay with that team beyond next season.

The Rockets destination would be the only other scenario for Howard to get traded too then still test free agency in the summer. GM Daryl Morey is very willing to risk trading for Howard and convincing him to stay past one season despite Howard being open about not wanting to play there.

Talks about who would be the favorite to sign Howard next summer may be a bad sign for him getting moved anytime soon. Orlando has said they aren’t necessarily in a hurry to trade Howard but everyone knows they’d love to rid themselves of Dwight’s drama as soon as possible.

Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

The Los Angeles Lakers are looking to meet with Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic to work on a trade for the All-Star center, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

The Lakers would like to receive a commitment from Howard that he will extend with the team beyond next season if they trade for him. Howard said previously that the only team he would extend with was the Brooklyn Nets.

There have been plenty of rumors involving Howard being traded to the Lakers. Most likely a third team would have to be involved for Orlando to get the best deal back from Howard involving either young prospects or a bunch of future draft picks.

The only team not interested in hearing Howard commit beyond next season with them is the Houston Rockets who are still “all-in” in attempting to acquire Howard. GM Daryl Morey has set up his roster with a slew of young assets and picks to throw Orlando’s way and they currently look like the team with the most to offer the Magic.

Howard sent direct messages on Twitter this week indicating that Orlando has not been totally up front about his health. Howard missed the end of last season and had back surgery and basically said he could barely walk in the direct messages.

There is a chance Howard would not be healthy to play by the start of next season and there is even a rumor out there (although unlikely) that Howard would choose to sit out the entire 2012-13 season if he remained with the Magic.

The team hoping for Howard to stay put until next summer is the Dallas Mavericks. Dallas tried to clear up cap to attract Deron Williams this summer but that did not work out and now they will do the same for Howard next summer.

Meanwhile Dallas looked as if it would end up with a very depleted roster losing Jason Terry and Jason Kidd but a couple of recent signings have salvaged a decent roster for them. Unrestricted free agent O.J. Mayo announced on Twitter that he will be signing with the Mavericks this season. Earlier in the week, Dallas grabbed Chris Kaman, Elton Brand and stole Darren Collison from Indiana.

The 2011 NBA champions are a far different team now and with an aging Dirk Nowitzki will not be back competing for a title any time soon unless they are able to sign a player like Howard.

Dallas beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in conference finals in 2011 and then got swept by them this past season in the first round.

With all of the recent movement around the league and the Western Conference in particular, OKC will still be considered the heavy favorite to make it to the NBA Finals again. Their biggest competition perhaps will be the Lakers since they have acquired Steve Nash, although the Thunder beat L.A. in five games in the second round this past postseason.

The other L.A. team, the Clippers are also up and coming in the West and have made a few nice moves to improve their roster starting with extending Blake Griffin for the next five years. Griffin suffered a knee injury during the Team USA training however and will have surgery Monday.

The Clippers have also signed Jamal Crawford and re-signed Chauncey Billups. They have also reportedly agreed to a 2-year deal with Grant Hill who was also considering the Lakers, Heat and Knicks. The Clippers were missing out on wing players on their roster this past season but adding Hill and Crawford will help them in that department.

The West has certainly gotten stronger from last season and we haven’t even mentioned the San Antonio Spurs who will have the same roster next season.

The Thunder don’t have to make moves to improve though. The experience they gained making it to the NBA Finals was enough.

The Magic want to get something back for Howard. They’re not just trying to get rid of him, at least not yet.

Orlando is willing to wait all the way until the trade deadline of next season if they have to and don’t have a deal worthy of Howard by then.

The Brooklyn Nets were the first team in the running to trade for Howard. But a deal involving Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks and picks never satisfied Orlando. The Nets moved on and traded for Joe Johnson instead, making it even more difficult for them to pull off a trade for Howard.

Howard said that Brooklyn was the only place he wanted to go and the only place where he’d agree to re-sign with past next season.

After Brooklyn fell off, the Los Angeles Lakers appeared to be the most likely suitor for Howard. They have the best individual trade piece for Howard in Andrew Bynum but Bynum is also in the final year of his contract next year and hasn’t agreed to re-sign in Orlando if he is traded there.

The Magic aren’t interested in dealing Howard just to rent Bynum for a season. They’re holding out for more.

A dark horse for Howard may be the Atlanta Hawks. After trading Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams away, new GM Danny Ferry appears to be trying for a dream scenario that would involve bringing Howard and Chris Paul to the Hawks in 2013-14.

Howard is from Atlanta but has not said anything about wanting to play there.

The Dallas Mavericks are another team with an outside shot to get Howard. Dallas went all-in on Deron Williams this offseason and they did not land him. They are left with a depleted roster but plenty of cap space to entice Howard with a max-deal next summer if he is a free agent then.

The Magic want to get rid of Howard, that’s for sure, but they’re not going to do it for nothing. They know they are rebuilding anyway and are in no hurry to trade Howard.

Howard may not even be healthy yet by the start of next season as he is still rehabbing his back.

Another center on the market now is Marcus Camby. Camby is reportedly deciding between the Miami Heat and New York Knicks.

The Knicks appear to be the frontrunner as the Heat can only offer Camby the veteran minimum of $1.4 million per year. New York is looking to do a sign-and-trade for Camby and give him $3.09 million per season.

The Heat recently signed Ray Allen of course and if they are somehow able to get Camby too that would be a home run for them in free agency. It looks unlikely however as there is a good chance Camby will be returning to play in New York next season.

The Nets may still be in play for Howard though. Orlando and Brooklyn are working on a deal for Howard that would send Brook Lopez, MarShon Brooks, Kris Humphries and three future first round picks to the Magic.

The Nets have even said they would take on the contract of Hedo Turkoglu as well to sweeten the deal for Orlando.

Howard made it clear yesterday that Brooklyn was the place he wanted to go. He said that Brooklyn is the only team he would re-sign with following next season if traded there. Howard went on to say that if he wasn’t traded to Brooklyn, he would just play out next season in Orlando then test free agency in the summer of 2013.

Deron Williams still has not officially decided where he will play next season. It is down to Brooklyn and the Dallas Mavericks for him as he is meeting with both teams this week.

Jason Kidd will supposedly also sign wherever Williams chooses and has been playing golf with Williams in Brooklyn some over the past few days.

If the Mavericks cannot sign Williams this season, they would surely like to go after Howard themselves. Dallas could offer Orlando Rodrigue Beaubois, Vince Carter, Dominique Jones, Brandan Wright and rookies Jared Cunningham, Bernard James and Jae Crowder.

Despite Howard saying he would only re-sign in Brooklyn, the Mavericks and their owner Marc Cuban would surely be confident that they could convince Howard to re-sign in Dallas.

The Howard drama simply continues. Orlando would love nothing more than to get rid of him before the season but they won’t unless there is a deal out there good enough for him. The Magic can technically wait all the way up until the trading deadline during next season for the right deal so they may not be in the biggest rush.

The Lakers are still a team that could happen with a Howard trade. Andrew Bynum remains the best individual piece Orlando could land by trading their center.

Williams will be able to get a contract worth one more year and $20 million more with the Nets but he is from Dallas and would have a better chance to chase a title playing with Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks.

Dwight Howard wants to play with Williams in Brooklyn. Despite running Orlando’s head coach and general manager out of town, Howard still wants out himself.

Dwight Howard met with new Magic GM Rob Hennigan Friday in LA. Howard told Hennigan he wants to be traded to Brooklyn Nets, sources say.

— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) July 1, 2012

The Nets simply do not have a lot to offer Orlando for Howard and the Magic aren’t going to let him go for nothing. Howard has a year left on his contract in Orlando and they will holdout until they absolutely have to let him go while trying to wait for the best deal for them.

Multiple league sources believe the Nets are losing hope they can pry Howard out of Orlando, and are working diligently to construct a roster to keep Williams that doesn’t necessarily give them the financial flexibility to absorb Howard when he can become a free agent next year. If the Magic do eventually make a deal for Howard – something that they haven’t shown an inclination yet to do with the Nets under new general manager Rob Hennigan – the Nets would be stocked with the kind of expensive veteran contracts that wouldn’t appeal to Orlando’s blueprint for rebuilding.

Williams has hoped to play with Howard in Brooklyn, but Orlando has shown no immediate intent to move its All-Star center, who has one year left on his contract, sources said. Williams has narrowed his free agent choices to Brooklyn and the Dallas Mavericks.

via Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski

The Nets have moved on to consider a trade for Joe Johnson to pair him up with Williams if they can’t get Howard. The Nets and Hawks aren’t close on a deal yet.

If the Nets do not get a deal done for Johnson or Howard, they plan to pursue O.J. Mayo in free agency and try to re-sign Brook Lopez and Gerald Wallace.

One thing that seems a certainty is Jason Kidd going wherever Williams goes. Kidd has expressed interest in becoming Williams’ backup whether it is in Dallas or Brooklyn.

Williams is spending the weekend playing golf with Kidd in New York’s Hamptons, sources told Bucher, yet one more indicator the Nets have at least a fighting chance to keep Williams and add Kidd sometime after free agency begins Sunday.

via ESPN’s Chris Broussard

Free agency begins tonight at midnight and the Heat want to move fast to get Allen, before other teams are more prepared to possibly pursue Allen as well.

“We’ve got five or six guys earmarked (in free agency) so we’ll see how it goes,” Heat president Pat Riley said. “We want to find as much space as we can on the floor for Dwyane, LeBron and for Chris (Bosh) to be able to operate.”

The Heat can only offer Allen a mid-level exception of around $3 million. That is considerably less than what Allen may be able to get from other teams but the Heat are also throwing in possibly the best chance for Allen to win another ring.

Steve Nash will likely be leaving his previous team as well this offseason as the Phoenix Suns. Nash made $11.7 million last season and the Suns are unlikely to offer him a 3-year deal worth more than $10 million per year.

The Suns plan to go after Eric Gordon as well and would look to offer him around $12 million per year but New Orleans should be prepared to match any reasonable offer as Gordon is a restricted free agent.

Nash will be able to get much more money elsewhere starting with Toronto who is rumored to be preparing to offer Nash $12 million per year.

“There’s positives to every situation,” Nash said. “The Raptors would be one of those teams where you’re probably not going there to win a championship in the next three years. For me it’d be going home to Canada, to a great city, and trying to help an organization move forward.

“I’m open to the positives of all of them. It’d be great if four or five contenders came after me and all offered me a deal, but the reality is I might not get that opportunity. So I’m going to look at every opportunity and Toronto will be one that I’ll study as well and look at the opportunity for them to grow in the next three years and what kind of impact I can have on that team. And obviously from a community standpoint, it’s a special place for me.”

via ESPN’s Marc Stein

Nash will also most likely be targeted by Dallas and New York but he’ll be able to make the most money in Toronto. Nash would like to have another chance at winning a ring and that would be hard to imagine in Toronto but he has also said that money is still an important factor for him.

Allen and Nash are both looking for another chance at a ring to close out their careers but they would both have to take a lot less cash to do so. The Heat look like the most likely landing spot for Allen right now and for Nash that place is Toronto.

Odom will return to where he started playing in the NBA for next season as he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers Friday.

Mo Williams went to the Utah Jazz in the 4-team deal. Dallas did it essentially to just get rid of Odom’s salary.

Odom loves playing in cities with good weather. This is not a secret about him. He only wants to play for teams in L.A. or Miami.

Odom had a very tough year last year but may be revitalized on the Clippers with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.

Odom is always a piece that any team could use and the Clippers for sure. If he can bounce back next season and return to his old self the Clippers could make a lot of noise in the Western Conference.

Dallas also received the draft rights to Tadija Dragicevic and the Clippers sent their recent draft choice Furkan Aldemir to Houston as part of the deal.

Here are draft grades for every team:

New Orleans Hornets
No. 1 overall – Anthony Davis, PF, Kentucky
No. 10 overall – Austin Rivers, G, Duke
No. 46 overall – Darius Miller, G/F, Kentucky

The Hornets really couldn’t go wrong possessing the first overall pick in the draft and chance to take Anthony Davis. Davis has a chance to be a franchise changer and playing alongside Eric Gordon in New Orleans is a good start. The Hornets took Rivers 10th overall which is what they wanted to do. The Hornets believe Rivers can play some point for them although he is a scoring guard at heart. Gordon is a good playmaker himself though so the two may be able to share ball handling duties a la Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry. The Darius Miller pick is nice too. He is an athlete that could make it in the NBA and was a teammate of Davis’ at Kentucky.

Grade: A+

Oklahoma City Thunder
No. 28 overall – Perry Jones, III, F, Baylor

To win a championship, sometimes it takes a little luck. The Thunder got the steal of the 2012 NBA Draft with the No. 28 pick. Perry Jones III we knew was going to fall because of concerns mainly surrounding his knee but sliding this far to a franchise that is perfect for him just seems unfair to the rest of the league. It was a Spurs-like snag for OKC and they know it already. Jones III has lottery talent and top-5 pick potential. One knock on him is that he never really stepped up and dominated and was more of a supporting role type of mindset and player. Well, come on down to OKC that sounds just fine!

Grade: A+

Charlotte Bobcats
No. 2 overall – Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, SF, Kentucky
No. 31 overall – Jeffrey Taylor, G/F, Vanderbilt

The Bobcats were supposed to either trade the No. 2 pick or take Thomas Robinson if they couldn’t. Instead, they shocked everyone selecting Michael Kidd-Gilchrist second overall. MKG is a player that will shine no matter where he plays, even in Charlotte. He has the potential to be the second best player in this draft class and it was a wise choice to make here by Michael Jordan. Jeffrey Taylor is a good pick too in the second round. Taylor was projected to go a little earlier in the draft and is a nice value find at 31.

Grade: A

Washington Wizards
No. 3 overall – Bradley Beal, SG, Florida
No. 32 overall – Tomas Satoransky, G, Czech Republic

The Wizards got the man they wanted at No. 3 but had to hold their breath and pray before doing so. As the Bobcats were shopping the No. 2 pick, any team that may have gotten it was probably going to take Bradley Beal second overall. The Wizards desperately wanted an elite shooter and wing to place alongside John Wall and they believe Beal is that guy. Beal measured just under 6-foot-5 so he’s not huge but he is physical and can do a lot of things on a basketball court. Tomas Satoranksy in the second round apparently is friends with Jan Vesely which makes that pick awesome too.

Grade: A

Sacramento Kings
No. 5 overall – Thomas Robinson, PF, Kansas

It was impossible not to fall in love with Thomas Robinson watching him break down after being selected fifth overall by the Kings. He won over a lot of fans with that reaction. Robinson is touted as one of the surest things at the top of this draft. The Kings wanted him bad too at No. 5, more than anybody else. Sacramento was going to pull off a trade with this pick with Houston if Robinson was off the board but obviously that didn’t happen. Robinson and DeMarcus Cousins are going to be able to get a lot of rebounds playing together.

Grade: A

Detroit Pistons
No. 9 overall – Andre Drummond, PF/C, Connecticut
No. 39 overall – Khris Middleton, SF, Texas A&M

The Pistons are extremely happy that Andre Drummond fell to them. Before the draft, they were hoping for this but planning to settle on John Henson. Drummond has as much upside as anyone in this draft. There are questions surrounding him but he is very young. It was the right pick here for Detroit without question. Khris Middleton isn’t someone that jumps out as a great pick here but at No. 39, there’s not a lot to expect.

Grade: A

Milwaukee Bucks
No. 14 overall – John Henson, PF, North Carolina
No. 42 overall – Doron Lamb, SG, Kentucky

The Bucks were pretty happy to see John Henson at No. 14 especially after trading down from 12 with Houston. Henson is the kind of guy Milwaukee wanted and someone who will block a lot of shots and grab some rebounds but really needs to put on some weight first. Doron Lamb is another player they were happy to see at No. 42. He could have gone in the first round and is an irrational confidence guy who can shoot and play some D too.

Grade: B+

Cleveland Cavaliers
No. 4 overall – Dion Waiters, SG, Syracuse
No. 17 overall – Tyler Zeller, C, North Carolina

It wasn’t a huge shocker that Cleveland took Dion Waiters No. 4. They were planning on possibly doing so and after being unable to trade up to No. 2 and take Beal, Waiters was the next guy on their list, probably just ahead of Harrison Barnes. It wasn’t an overly popular pick but Waiters has an NBA-ready body and next to Kyrie Irving should do well. With Tyler Zeller sliding in the draft, the Cavaliers pulled the trigger on a trade with Dallas to get to No. 17 and take the North Carolina center. They gave up three picks for Zeller so they must really like him. Now with a core of Irving, Waiters, Thompson and Zeller, Cleveland’s future looks kind of alright.

Grade: B

Portland Trailblazers
No. 6 overall – Damian Lillard, PG, Weber State
No. 11 overall – Meyers Leonard, C, Illinois
No. 40 overall – Will Barton, SG, Memphis

Before the Draft, Portland was intent on keeping their 6th and 11th picks and they also loved Damian Lillard. Six may sound high for Lillard but Portland did something smart: picking their favorite guy and not caring where they did it. They then filled a need at 11 with Meyers Leonard, the center from Illinois. Portland was projected in some mocks to take Andre Drummond and either Austin Rivers or Jeremy Lamb. That sounds a little better than what they ended up with. They get Will Barton at No. 40 which is another solid value pick as he was projected late-first by many.

Grade: B

Golden State Warriors
No. 7 overall – Harrison Barnes, G/F, North Carolina
No. 30 overall – Festus Ezeli, C, Vanderbilt
No. 35 overall – Draymond Green, F, Michigan State
No. 52 overall – Ognjen Kuzmic, C, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Despite his overall disappointing feeling, many still feel Harrison Barnes can be an All-Star in the NBA. Getting him at No. 7 was a pretty solid pick for the Warriors, who are starting new next year post-Monta Ellis and with Andrew Bogut. Festus Ezeli with the last pick of the first round is understandable too and he is a high-character guy who will work hard for them. Draymond Green is another good pick to get in the second round. The Warriors didn’t have a flashy draft but they made some value picks and that’s always a good strategy.

Grade: B

Houston Rockets
No. 12 overall – Jeremy Lamb, SG, Connecticut
No. 16 overall – Royce White, F, Iowa State
No. 18 overall – Terrence Jones, F, Kentucky

The Rockets were stockpiling draft picks with one thing on their mind: Dwight Howard. That hasn’t happened yet and now feels like it won’t. They were hoping to move up to No. 5 to take Andre Drummond but since Thomas Robinson fell to the Kings there, they weren’t trading that pick. The Rockets will settle for three pretty solid players starting with Jeremy Lamb at No. 12 who has a lot of pro potential as a scorer. When they took Royce White at No. 16, you knew they weren’t trading their picks anymore. White has gotten a lot of buzz this draft as a more athletic Boris Diaw who plays a little like Charles Barkley too. Terrence Jones two picks later is another talented forward that can do a variety of things. You always feel players Daryl Morey drafts are guys who can find a spot in the NBA. The Rockets just had bigger sights for this draft than this.

Grade: B

Phoenix Suns
No. 13 overall – Kendall Marshall, PG, North Carolina

It’s just about official now that Steve Nash is on his way out in Phoenix. Kendall Marshall is their point guard of the future. Marshall was one of the best assists men in college the past two seasons and has drawn comparisons to Mark Jackson and Andre Miller so yeah, he’s not quick. He’s fun to play with and will make the players around him better. They like that in Phoenix.

Grade: B

Chicago Bulls
No. 29 overall – Marquis Teague, PG, Kentucky

The Bulls were either going backup point here or combo-guard shooter. Marquis Teague is a talented player with this pick and someone who may be able to play alongside Derrick Rose some. It’s nothing special for the Bulls but a good pick nonetheless. Bulls fans were dying for Perry Jones III to slip one more pick into their laps.

Grade: B

Toronto Raptors
No. 8 overall – Terrence Ross, SG, Washington
No. 37 overall – Quincy Acy, PF, Baylor
No. 56 overall – Tomislav Zubcic, PF, Croatia

The Raptors would have loved to see Harrison Barnes fall one more pick into their laps. They would have loved even more to move up and snag Dion Waiters. They settle for Terrence Ross who can do things that will make him have a solid NBA career: shoot threes and defend. Quincy Acy in Round 2 could be a Reggie Evans type which is something this franchise has experience with. Tomislav Zubcic will not come over right away. If Toronto gets Steve Nash, a lot of their problems will appear solved.

Grade: C+

Orlando Magic
No. 19 overall – Andrew Nicholson, PF, St. Bonaventure
No. 49 overall – Kyle O’Quinn, C, Norfolk State

The Magic are in a weird situation and have been ever since Dwight Howard started pouting. Howard ran their head coach and GM out of town and still wants out himself. He hasn’t gotten it yet but it’s really only a matter of time. Orlando’s picks of Andrew Nicholson and Kyle O’Quinn may have been logical, but they won’t make their fans feel better yet

Grade: C+

Boston Celtics
No. 21 overall – Jared Sullinger, PF, Ohio State
No. 22 overall – Fab Melo, C, Syracuse
No. 51 overall – Kris Joseph, SF, Syracuse

We knew Jared Sullinger would drop, we just didn’t know how far. The Celtics are in a rebuilding stage now and looking to bulk up their front court with Sullinger and Fab Melo. The Celtics were hoping for Royce White here or to trade up and take Doc Rivers’ son Austin Rivers in the lottery. The best case scenario for Kris Joseph (taken No. 51 overall) is Gary Forbes, according to DraftExpress.

Grade: C+

Philadelphia 76ers
No. 15 overall – Maurice Harkless, SF, St. John’s
No. 27 overall – Arnett Moultrie, PF/C, Mississippi State

Philadelphia fans are not happy with the decision to take Maurice “don’t call me Moe” Harkless 15th overall. When you draft a guy who plays the same position as your best player at No. 15, it never feels like it makes sense. Harkless came out after just one year at St. John’s and is said to have some pro potential but he’s nothing special. The 76ers traded up with Miami to get Arnett Moultrie at No. 27. It’s just another lateral move here for Philly. Their fans want more than that.

Grade: C

Denver Nuggets
No. 20 overall – Evan Fournier, SG, France
No. 38 overall – Quincy Miller, G/F, Baylor
No. 50 overall – Izzet Turkyilmaz, PF, Turkey

The Nuggets surprisingly went with Evan Fournier at No. 20 despite some talent sitting on the board. Fournier will not come over to the NBA next season but was the highest rated international prospect of the draft. The Nuggets clearly weren’t looking to try and strike gold with late first round picks this year. They’ve already accomplished that with Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried. Their pick at No. 38 felt a little better. Some fans wanted Quincy Miller with the 20th pick so getting him this late is a win in that sense. Miller is young with a ton of potential but has the usual question marks. Denver went with another international product late in the second round that we won’t see in the NBA right away.

Grade: C

Atlanta Hawks
No. 23 overall – John Jenkins, SG, Vanderbilt
No. 43 overall – Mike Scott, F, Virginia

Nothing special here for Atlanta. John Jenkins could be decent but he won’t turn any heads. He can really shoot it though and might get some run for the Hawks where Josh Smith is on the way out. It would have been great if Atlanta had decided to draft Marquis Teague here and run an all-Teague backcourt with his brother Jeff. Love the Mike Scott pick.

Grade: C

Dallas Mavericks
No. 24 overall – Jared Cunningham, G, Oregon State
No. 33 overall – Bernard James, C, Florida State
No. 34 overall – Jae Crowder, F, Marquette

It doesn’t seem like Dallas was trying to do a ton in this draft. They dealt their 17th overall pick to Cleveland probably because there was no one they were in love with. They got three picks back for it and didn’t do anything crazy with them. One of the cooler moments in the draft though was Bernard James having his name called and walking to the podium. The crowd started chanting “U-S-A” because James served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Dallas’ main priority this offseason is wooing Deron Williams and/or Dwight Howard.

Grade: C

Memphis Grizzlies
No. 25 overall – Tony Wroten, Jr., PG, Washington

The Grizzlies wanted a point guard and a lot of mocks had them going with Marquis Teague but they choose Tony Wroten, Jr. instead. Jay Bilas calls Wroten, Jr. a taller Rajon Rondo. That means he’s a good passer and can’t shoot a lick. Maybe it’s what Memphis needs and there is some upside there.

Grade: C

Utah Jazz
No. 47 overall – Kevin Murphy, SG, Tennessee Tech

Utah has enough young players from the last few drafts that they didn’t care too much about this year. Kevin Murphy is the only player from this draft to score 50 or more points in game last year in college. Why not?

Grade: C

Miami Heat
No. 45 overall – Justin Hamilton, C, LSU

Miami could have had Perry Jones III at No. 27 and it would have been just as scary as OKC getting him if not more so. They just didn’t want to have to pay a first rounder this year. Their cap space will be tight the next few seasons. They trade down here and get a 7-footer which they need. Something tells me we won’t see a ton of Justin Hamilton playing for the defending champs.

Grade: C

San Antonio Spurs
No. 59 overall – Marcus Denmon, G, Missouri

The Spurs drafted him so he’ll be an All-Star in four years. Marcus Denmon feels a little Patty Mills/James Anderson. The Spurs probably aren’t expecting too much from Denmon though.

Grade: C

New York Knicks
No. 48 overall – Kostas Papanikolaou, F, Greece

Not doing anything here. The home crowd really loved this pick at least.

Grade: C-

Los Angeles Clippers
No. 53 overall – Furkan Aldemir, PF, Turkey

Love this pick. He may never play in the NBA but he is a great rebounder and can only score on putbacks, according to Fran Fraschilla. What’s not to love?

Grade: C-

Los Angeles Lakers
No. 55 overall – Darius Johnson-Odom, SG, Marquette
No. 60 overall – Robert Sacre, C, Gonzaga

Darius Johnson-Odom plays the wrong sport. He’d be an awesome football player and used that to his advantage in college for Marquette. He will look a lot smaller in the NBA. If Robert Sacre is playing for the Lakers next season, it won’t be a good thing.

Grade: C-

Brooklyn Nets
No. 41 overall – Tyshawn Taylor, PG, Kansas
No. 54 overall – Tornike Shengelia, PF, Georgia
No. 57 overall – Ilkan Karaman, PF, Turkey

Brooklyn not trying to go crazy here. They are just praying for Deron Williams and Dwight Howard to hookup in their new city. Tyshawn Taylor might make it as a backup point in this league but nothing more. Tornike Shengelia goes by “Toko” and is a 6-foot-9 scorer who is good at attacking and can score around the rim well but has no jumper. Ilkan Karamen has a ton of tattoos and may “never play in the NBA” according to Fran Fraschilla.

Grade: C-

Minnesota Timberwolves
No. 58 overall – Robbie Hummel, SF, Purdue

Kevin Love, Chase Budinger and now Robbie Hummel. Good luck rest of league.

Grade: C-

Indiana Pacers
No. 26 overall – Miles Plumlee, PF, Duke
No. 36 overall – Orlando Johnson, SG, UCSB

This may have been the worst draft pick ever, worse than Sam Bowie. With names like Perry Jones III, Draymond Green and Festus Ezeli on the board, Indiana elects to take the worst Plumlee brother, Miles. If they weren’t Indiana and known for their white hoopsters, this would be an even worse pick. It’s still so horrible though words can’t describe it. There’s nothing that could make this pick ever make sense. They get Orlando Johnson from UCSB in the second round who was a 20-point scorer last year and might do something for them.

Grade: F

Williams has been involved in many rumors over the past year since being traded from the Utah Jazz to the Nets. Now, it looks like he’s narrowed down his choices to two teams.

Sources say Williams, in any case, already has instructed his representatives to advise any team that calls starting at 12:01 a.m. July 1 that he intends to either re-sign with the Nets or return to his hometown with the Mavericks after a glittering high school career in the Dallas area.

via ESPN’s Marc Stein

The Nets would be able to offer Williams more money with a 5-year deal worth around $100 million while Dallas can only give him 4-years, $75 million.

“I want to go to a place where I feel like they will have a chance to build and build fast,” Williams told the Los Angeles Times. “I’m not really in the mood for being part of a rebuilding process. I’m getting older. I’m about to be 28. I want to win. I want to win now. Also, I want to live in a place where I want to live and my kids will enjoy living. That’s pretty much it.”

The Nets were hoping acquiring Williams would help woo Dwight Howard to them but now that it looks like that won’t happen, Williams may flee leaving the Nets completely empty handed.

Dallas sacrificed putting up a legit fight to defend their title to clear cap space for stars like Williams and Howard.

Free agency officially begins July 1 at midnight and players will not be able to legally sign new contracts until July 11.

Dirk recently shared with Marc Stein of ESPN how he feels about Durant:

“KD,” Nowitzki says, “is way ahead of my curve.”

“He’s arguably the best player in the league right now,” Nowitzki told ESPN.com over the weekend. “I see a guy that really has no holes.

“He’s a 6-10 guy with a 7-4 wingspan who can shoot it from the parking lot. He’s posting up now. In transition he’s so long that, when he gets a pass from the 3-point line, it’s a layup or dunk with one step. He’s got the one- or two-dribble pull-up, which you need to be a great scorer, because you can’t just shoot 3s or go to the basket if you want to be a great scorer, ’cause sometimes you can’t get all the way to the bucket. He can go both ways, one or two dribbles and up.

“And he’s clutch, too. He’s hit big shot after big shot all season long. He made three game winners on us this year. I thought he’s always been clutch, but now it’s almost like you know he’s going to make them. He’s phenomenal.”

Dirk isn’t done, either.

“He’s way more of a 3-man than I ever was,” Nowitzki continued. “He handles the ball way better on the break than I ever did. He’s got deeper range. And he’s doing all this at 23. He’s won the scoring title three times in a row, so that he means he won the first one at 21. I barely got through my rookie year. When I was 21, Gary Trent was still killing me in practice.”

It’s no surprise Dirk loves Durant’s game so much. The two are very similar players with similar skill sets but Dirk is right that Durant has more potential than him.

Durant can learn a lot from Dirk and how his game evolved over the years. Dirk started off a more perimeter based offensive player, shooting a lot of threes. Last season when the Mavericks won the NBA title, Dirk did most of his work in the low-to-high posts.

Durant has more ball handling skills than Dirk but still could spend some more time in the post. He has demonstrated this season a determination to emulate Dirk with his patented one-footed stepback jumper but Durant still has a long way to go with that shot and his post game in general.

In 2006, we saw Dirk struggle mightily in the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. The defense was very physical on him as Dirk was often playing with his back to the basket but from about 18 feet out.

Durant plays that way a lot this season and for the pessimists, the comparison with ’06 Dirk might seem kind of likely.

Win or lose in these Finals, Durant should go to school watching Dirk’s career arc. Dirk became the perfect championship leader last season with Dallas and if Durant strives for that, he can’t go wrong.

Soobum-Im-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder have found themselves in a tough spot. Being down 0-2 in an NBA Playoff series is not a good place to be.

In the history of the NBA, only 14 teams have comeback from a 0-2 deficit to win a playoff series. Three times it happened in the NBA Finals, three times it happened in the Conference Finals and three times it happened in a 5-game series.

The Thunder will have to do just that against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals if they don’t want their season to end.

The problem is that the Spurs are playing like the best team in the NBA right now. They’ve won 20-straight games, which is tied for the third most ever in the NBA, and haven’t lost since April 11.

But it has happened before and if there is one thing you can say about the Thunder it is that they never give up and stop fighting.

How do teams come back from a 0-2 deficit? What usually happens?

The Thunder can look at a couple of teams that may show them a possible blue print.

2007 ECF: Cavaliers beat the Pistons 4-2

LeBron James and Cleveland lose the first two games 79-76 each time in Detroit. Those weren’t fun games to watch.

Then LeBron makes the leap. He has the memorable 48-point game five and it feels like the NBA will never be the same because LeBron is becoming the most unstoppable force ever.

The Cavaliers would lose to the Spurs in the NBA Finals but LeBron gave us a glimpse of just how talented he could become.

Kevin Durant has a chance to do exactly what LeBron did in 2007 in this series. It’s time for him to step up and have a huge playoff series. Only once in his career has he averaged more than 30 per game in a playoff series.

Durant may need to suddenly jump to another level of greatness for the Thunder to win.

2006 Finals: Heat beat Mavericks 4-2

Dallas proves why they are a much better team than Miami in Games 1 and 2 then Dwyane Wade and the referees take over the rest of the series.

Wade shoots 739 free throws in the final four games of the series and puts up historic NBA Finals numbers.

The Thunder are a team with a ton of bogus-foul calls potential. Couldn’t you see Durant, Westbrook and Harden start flailing their bodies into the Spurs over the next four games and getting every call?

Doesn’t David Stern and the NBA want to see LeBron vs. Durant in the Finals? Let’s make this happen.

1993 ECF: Bulls beat Knicks 4-2

The Thunder are reminiscent in many ways of the late-80’s, early-90’s Chicago Bulls teams. They may not have a Michael Jordan but overall they look comparable from time to time.

The Bulls lost the first two games on the road to the Knicks in this 1993 series. Those games were physical and the Bulls were not in their usual rhythm until they returned home and showed why the more talented team won the series.

The Thunder and Spurs games haven’t been especially physical but the Thunder have been out of rhythm so far in the series and haven’t been playing to their potential yet.

There is a ton of potential for this series to look a lot different when it gets to OKC on Thursday and that could propel a Thunder comeback.

Conclusion

It is possible but very unlikely for an NBA team to come back from a 0-2 deficit in a playoff series. It is even harder when you are playing a team as good as the Spurs.

But if you were going to pick a team to do this wouldn’t it be a team like this Thunder team? A team on the rise who shows tons of potential but not all the time? A team with the best player in this series who is on the verge of “making the leap?”

There’s still hope.

Dirk still thinks San Antonio is going to beat the Thunder and make it to the NBA Finals.

“I think San Antonio’s going to do it, just because they’ve got one more home game,” Dirk said on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM’s Galloway & Company. “They really came on strong late in the season and they snatched home-court advantage away from OKC. So, I got to think just by that there is a little slight advantage. But honestly, both teams are good enough to win on the opponent’s floor, so I would give a slight advantage to San Antonio, but, man, OKC is looking really good.”

Dirk and the Spurs have a long history in the playoffs so it’s not surprising that Dirk would be backing them. Dirk seems to be enjoying his chance to simply be a fan and watch the rest of these playoffs.

“It’s going to be spectacular. Hopefully, it’s going to be a long series and we can all watch some great basketball,” Nowitzki said. “The whole thing is full of great matchups. Just off the bench with Ginobili and [James] Harden going at it, the two point guards, obviously [Russell] Westbrook was phenomenal against us all series, but Parker is having a phenomenal year, probably in the prime of his career and Duncan is still looking really good this year. And now they got another week off to rest everybody.

“So, it’s going to be an incredible series to watch.”

Dirk is right about that. Many are calling the Thunder-Spurs Western Conference Finals the real NBA Finals this season since both teams have been playing far better than anyone else in the playoffs.

Game 1 will be Sunday at 8:30 p.m. EST on TNT.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

James Harden was named the NBA’s best sixth man yesterday to the surprise of no one. Harden was winning this award from the first game of the season this year and had little competition for it all season.

Harden averaged basically a 17-4-4 shooting 49 percent from the field and 39 percent from three. He did everything for Oklahoma City’s second unit and showed in Game 4 that he can be relied on to close out games for them as well.

Is Harden one of the best sixth men ever? Is he the best one ever?

The award wasn’t given out until the 1982-83 season. Bobby Jones of Philadelphia won it that year then Kevin McHale won it the next two. The Sixth Man of the Year award winner was on the NBA championship team in three of the first four seasons.

Sixth men have always been a crucial piece to championship teams. And it makes sense too. Being a sixth man often means sacrificing being a starter and hearing your name called out every night before the game. Winning a championship is about sacrificing for the team and for the greater good.

Before we determine if Harden is the best sixth man ever we need to figure out what are the best qualities for a sixth man to have.

Scoring off the bench is probably the most important. It is so valuable to have someone who can come in off the bench and score at a high level. And when you get to do this against a second unit it can sometimes become a deadly weapon like in the case of Harden.

Harden is really one of the premiere one-on-one scorers in the league and when he gets to play the first six minutes of the second and fourth quarters against bench units he is really able to take advantage of this strength.

Like I mentioned before being a player who is willing to sacrifice is also an important ingredient in a sixth man. Harden is easily able to do this because he plays with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. So it makes a ton of sense for him to play a lot of minutes without either of them so that the Thunder can maximize their three best players’ potential.

A great sixth man must also be able to close out games. We saw Jason Terry as a perfect example of this last year for Dallas and Harden is now showing signs of becoming that guy for Oklahoma City. Manu Ginobili was also the offensive closer in a lot of cases during his championship days for San Antonio.

What really makes Harden so special is that he not only can carry a scoring load for the second unit but also essentially is the point guard for the Thunder’s bench squad. When Eric Maynor was lost for the year with an injury earlier this season, Harden’s role increased. He had to create everything for himself and others on the bench.

I think this is where Harden separates himself from past Sixth Man of the Year winners is his ability to thrive in two crucial bench roles. He can do this because he has superstar talent and an incredible understanding of how to play the game and what’s important.

Harden is no right up there with ’08 Ginobili who played a similar role that Harden did this year and with slightly better numbers.

Other than Ginobili you have to go back to the 1980’s to find a better sixth man than Harden. In 1985, Kevin McHale averaged a 20-9 for the Celtics and he also shot .570 percent from the field. The year before McHale averaged 18.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game and they won the title.

Harden’s not on that level yet and may never be at least as a sixth man. Harden has a chance in the rest of these playoffs to get there though. If he becomes the closer for the Thunder handling the ball down the stretch of games then this Thunder team really has a chance to go all the way, cementing Harden as possibly the best bench player of all-time.

The Thunder swept the Dallas Mavericks last Saturday and haven’t played since as they await the winner of the Lakers-Nuggets series.

The Lakers and Nuggets will play Game 6 Thursday night with the Lakers leading that series 3-2. If the Lakers win then Game 1 of the second round will be played Saturday in Oklahoma City.

If they lose then Game 7 of that series will be Saturday and the second round for the Thunder wouldn’t begin until Monday or Tuesday.

The Lakers went into Game 5 at home up 3-1 with a chance to shut the door on the Nuggets but Denver came out strong and survived a close one despite 43 points from Kobe Bryant.

The way that Denver played Game 5 on the road controlling the style of play and getting a big night from JaVale McGee they might as well be favored to win at home for Game 6 and force a Game 7.

The Thunder are fine with waiting as long as possible for the second round to begin because of the injury to Kendrick Perkins in Game 4 against Dallas. Perkins is still listed as day-to-day and may not play in the first few games of the next series.

Perkins was traded for last year specifically so that the Thunder could matchup better with the Lakers and not having them would make life a lot tougher.

Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced Sunday that Kendrick Perkins had suffered a right hip muscle strain in the first quarter of Game 4 against the Dallas Mavericks and is now listed as day-to-day.

Perkins likely would not have been able to play in any more of the Dallas series and may even miss some of the next round. That just adds to the importance of the Thunder’s 13-point fourth quarter comeback in Game 4.

Perkins had been the primary defender Oklahoma City used on Dirk Nowitzki in the series and Perkins’ value as a post defender may be in even higher demand if the Thunder play the Lakers in the second round, and it looks like they will.

Perkins’ return to play will be based on his progress and recovery in the coming days. Recovery time would normally take a week or longer for this type of injury but you’d have to assume that is he is close to being able to go then he will even if it’s a little too soon.

Day-to-day is not very telling of the injury as Thunder guard Thabo Sefolosha missed over a month while being listed day-to-day.

The Thunder would have to play next as early as this coming Saturday (7 days after the injury) or as late as next Monday or Tuesday (9 or 10 days).

The Thunder will have home court no matter what but dealing with the Lakers’ frontline of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum won’t be easy without Perkins. The Lakers have the best 4-5 combo in the NBA and part of Oklahoma City’s success against Los Angeles has been their ability to contain the duo with Perkins and Serge Ibaka.

In the second half of Game 4 against Dallas, Brooks started Nazr Mohammed to stick with the usual rotation of bringing Nick Collison off the bench. If Perkins is not ready to play by Game 1 you would expect Brooks to do the same because you wouldn’t want to sacrifice the chemistry Collison and James Harden have with the second unit.

The Thunder should still be favored in a series with the Lakers even without Perkins but remember last year Oklahoma City traded Jeff Green for Perkins for this exact matchup with the Lakers.

The Thunder trailed 81-68 entering the fourth quarter and it looked like the series would be going back to Oklahoma City.

Then Harden took over the game. The Thunder offense went exclusively through him as it usually does when he’s out there with the bench unit and it also continues to when Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook checked back in.

An interesting thing to note here too is that Scott Brooks took Durant out with a few minutes left in the third quarter and when he does that it usually means Durant will start the fourth quarter and play the rest of the game.

If Durant starts the fourth does Harden completely take over? Maybe not.

In the fourth quarter the Thunder would have 22 offensive possessions. Twenty of them came in the half court and 15 straight of them were Harden dribbling down, getting one pick and creating everything.

Let’s go through the entire fourth quarter for the Thunder.

The first three possessions, the Thunder run their Corner 2 set that featured Harden and Nick Collison in dribble handoff action.

Harden comes off a Collison screen and drives left to the paint and then finds Daequan Cook throwing a pass across his body for the three. When Harden makes passes, shooters make shots because the basketball Gods love his passes.

11:38 – Dallas up 81-71

Harden drives left again off of a Collison screen and the ball is poked away out of bounds by Delonte West from behind. Cook then finds Serge Ibaka wide open for a dunk on a slip from the baseline out of bounds play.

10:56 – Dallas up 81-73

Before the ball can go to Collison on the next possession, Derek Fisher reads an opening to drive on the pick-and-roll and then misses the pull-up jumper.

10:11 – Dallas up 83-73

Durant checks back in. Now the Thunder are just having Harden bring the ball up usually to the right wing and bring a screen to him above the 3-point line. Harden drives hard left and gets fouled from behind and gets the continuation layup to fall and makes the free throw.

9:29 – Dallas up 86-76

Harden this time when he gets into the paint goes to his right and misses the tough layup. Ibaka follows up the offensive rebounds and misses the putback.

9:00 – Dallas up 86-76

Harden gets the pick-and-roll but nothing is there right away. He backs off then goes straight into West on the isolation drive and finishes with a tough eurostep from 10-feet away. Dallas fans wanted the travel.

Here are his last two buckets.

8:33 – Dallas up 86-78

Westbrook checks back in. Harden gets his screen again and goes hard to his left finishing with the layup.

8:07 – Dallas up 86-80

Harden gets the screen but there isn’t a lot of space to drive and kicks back to Durant who comes up some to the right wing and Durant drills the three. Again, shooters knock down shots when Harden is the passer.

7:26 – Dallas up 86-83

Harden gets the pick and splits the defenders on his way to the huge monster dunk.

6:39 – Dallas up 86-85

Dallas now decides to go to their matchup zone so that Harden can’t as easily attack the paint. It works in a way. Harden has to kick out to Westbrook on the left wing after the pick. Westbrook drives and kicks back out to Harden who swings it to Durant on the right wing who nails the three.

6:05 – Tie game 88-88

Harden gets the pick again and quickly kicks out to Durant on the right wing. Dirk comes up to close out on Durant and Durant drives hard baseline past him and finishes with the flush.

5:33 – Dallas up 91-90

Westbrook strips Dirk on defense then finds a trailing Ibaka for the fast break dunk to give the Thunder their first lead of the quarter.

5:16 – Oklahoma City up 92-91

Dallas still in the matchup zone. Harden waives off the Ibaka screen and goes one-on-one on Jason Kidd. He drives to his right and misses the layup over Ian Mahinmi.

4:37 – Oklahoma City up 92-91

Harden again isolates with Kidd on him and drives left this time but loses his handle on the way to the rim. He regains it then kicks back out to Derek Fisher who drives in for the layup.

4:05 – Oklahoma City up 94-91

Dallas is back in man. Harden gets the screen and drives left. Jason Terry helps on the drive and Harden kicks out to Westbrook on the left wing who misses the 3-pointer.

3:34 – Oklahoma City up 94-91

Harden in the pick-and-roll and Mahinmi doesn’t hedge creating a situation where Harden has momentum driving right at Mahinmi. Harden gets to his right and is fouled shooting the layup and makes both.

3:00 – Oklahoma City up 96-91

Thunder try and go pick-and-roll again with Harden. Nothing is there and Harden kicks to Durant. The ball goes back to Harden at the end of the shot clock and he goes one-on-one with Shawn Marion on him and scores going to his left with the layup.

2:30 – Oklahoma City up 98-93

Dallas is looking to go back into their matchup zone here but the Thunder are overloaded on the left side of the floor. Dallas gets confused and Harden swings to Durant on the right wing before the pick-and-roll comes all the way. Dallas is scrambling and Durant finds Collison diving to the rim and he’s fouled shooting a layup and makes both free throws.

2:01 – Oklahoma City up 100-95

Dallas in the zone and Marion ends up on Harden who decides to just isolate on him. Marion is playing off him and Harden knows he can get the stepback three off. He misses it.

1:27 – Oklahoma City up 100-95

The Thunder go to Durant isolating at the top of the key. He has space and elects to go for the pull-up straightaway 3-pointer. He misses it.

0:48 – Oklahoma City up 100-95

The Thunder go back to Harden in the pick-and-roll while Dallas is back in man. Harden gets Kidd to switch on to him and then easily drives by him going to his right and the paint is wide open for him to finish with the layup.

So Harden scores 15 in the quarter and dishes out three assists (all for 3-pointers). The Thunder ran the same basic play on 15 straight half court possessions and it worked incredibly well.

I’ve said before that the Thunder are at their best doing exactly this. With Harden as the playmaker and Durant and Westbrook off the ball they are maximizing the three’s potential. We saw Harden of course do that in Game 4 and Durant too showed us how good he can be off the ball.

Westbrook’s greatest impact came on defense but he’s shown before how effective he can be off the ball when Harden has it.

It was so important for Oklahoma City to get Harden playing well in their first round series and that’s exactly what happened. The sweep of the defending champs proved that the Thunder are serious contenders and they will go as far as Harden takes them.

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced today that starting center Kendrick Perkins suffered a right hip muscle strain in the Thunder’s Game 4 victory in Dallas Saturday night, as confirmed by an MRI.

Perkins was injured during the first quarter of Game 4 and did not return to the game. He is currently listed as day-to-day.

With the Thunder sweeping Dallas they will have as much time off as possible before their second round series begins.

The Thunder will await the winner of the Lakers-Nuggets series. The Lakers lead the series 2-1 and will play in Denver for Game 4 Sunday night.

Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

The New York Knicks will not be swept by the Miami Heat in the first round of these playoffs. The Knicks won Game 4 89-87 to send the series back to Miami.

Carmelo Anthony scored 41 points in the game and was 15-for-29 from the field.

LeBron James led Miami with 27 but went 9-for-21 from the floor.

Amare Stoudemire returned to the Knicks starting lineup after missing Game 3 because of the fire extinguisher incident. He looked good despite wearing a pretty large bandage on his left hand and scored 20 points to go with 10 rebounds in the game.

The Heat haven’t looked their best in the last two games in New York in this series and that’s kind of been their thing this year playing much worse on the road.

You can’t imagine the Heat losing a Game 5 at home but if they do and they have to go back to Madison Square Garden the series will become interesting if nothing else.

Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Chicago Bulls are missing Derrick Rose. A lot.

The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Bulls 89-82 in Game 4 Sunday to take a commanding 3-1 series lead over the team with the best regular season record in the conference. After losing Game 1 in which Rose played, the 76ers have gone on to win the next three games.

They’re doing it with defense too. The Bulls scored 103 points in Game 1 but scored just 92 in the Game 2 blowout, then 74 and 82 in Games 3 and 4 in Philadelphia.

Luol Deng was the player who needed to step up the most in Rose’s absence but has scored just 24 total points in the last three games of the series.

Rose’s greatest value that he brings to this Chicago team is being able to create his own offense and in the regular season that’s not as important but it evidently is huge in the postseason for this team.

Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder are so far the only team to sweep their opponent in the first round this year as they did so last night in Dallas behind a huge fourth quarter from James Harden.

The Thunder are certainly playing excellent basketball right now and look as much like title contenders right now as they ever have.

Harden has really taken his game to another level and that’s what was going to need to happen for the Thunder to take that next step as a team.

The Spurs are up 3-0 in their series against the Jazz and look like they will sweep Utah by all accounts. The Spurs still seem to pose the greatest threat to the Thunder in the Western Conference.

The Lakers are up 2-1 against the Nuggets and lost Game 3 in Denver. Los Angeles should still win the series and if they do so, Metta World Peace will be returning to the lineup in Oklahoma City.

That should be interesting.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

James Harden took his game to another level Saturday night in Game 4 of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s first round matchup with the defending champion Dallas Mavericks.

The Thunder completed the sweep of the Mavericks winning 103-97 and outscoring Dallas 35-16 in the final quarter.

Harden scored 15 of his playoff career-high 29 points in the fourth quarter and also had five assists, five rebounds and three steals in the game. Everything went through Harden in the fourth as he completely took over.

Oklahoma City trailed 81-68 entering the fourth quarter and Harden got hot quick. Down 86-73 with 9:29 left in the game Harden would score seven straight points and then find Kevin Durant open for a 3-pointer as the Thunder went on a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to three with 7:26 to play.

The Thunder continued their comeback in the next two minutes to take the lead behind a 3-pointer and three dunks.

Dirk Nowitzki made two free throws to cut the Thunder lead to 100-97 with 33 seconds left in the game only to see Harden respond again.

The offense continued to go through Harden until the very end. Harden isolated and scored on a layup with a second left on the shot clock and 10 seconds left in the game to put the finishing touches on the Thunder win.

The other Thunder players stepped up their games inspired by the elevated play of Harden.

Durant started making threes when he came back in the game in the fourth and finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.

Russell Westbrook struggled shooting on the night going 3-for-12 with 12 points but came up with a big steal from behind on Dirk that led to the fast break dunk for Serge Ibaka that gave the Thunder their first lead of the fourth with 5:16 left in the game.

Ibaka had the task of guarding Dirk for most of the night after Kendrick Perkins went down with a strained right hip in the first quarter and did not return.

Dirk scored 34 in the game but the Thunder defense rose to the occasion when they needed to, to get stops.

After Ibaka fouled out with just over two minutes left, Durant came up with three huge defensive rebounds and was noticeably more engaged on defense.

The Thunder once again look they are growing up in this series. It was another game that Dallas had in the bag and could have easily won but the Thunder never gave up.

They’ve played this way all season too and their ability to carry that into the playoffs and trust Harden to be the catalyst down the stretch has to make you think this team is a real contender this year.

Dallas is the first defending champ to be swept in the first round since Miami in 2007 lost 4-0 to Chicago.

The Mavericks were not the same this year and were clearly waiting for this summer to make some more moves.

Credit the Thunder for playing hard every game in this series and gutting out three really tough, close wins.

Oklahoma City will now await the winner of the Lakers-Nuggets series in the second round. The Lakers currently are up 2-1 but did lost Game 3 last night in Denver.

Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins suffered a right hip strain in the first quarter of Game 4 against the Dallas Mavericks and will not return to the game.

The Thunder lead Dallas 26-24 after one quarter. Perkins had two assists and two rebounds in the quarter and has been the player assigned to cover Dirk Nowitzki the most this series.

Perkins has done a nice job on Dirk but Nick Collison traditionally does the best job on Dirk and certainly will play more minutes with Perkins out.

The Thunder have gone small a lot in this series playing Kevin Durant at the four and inserting Derek Fisher into the lineup. Expect to see that again tonight.

Oklahoma City is looking to sweep Dallas tonight and the Mavericks have come out tonight a lot better than they did in Game 3. The defending champs obviously won’t go down without a fight.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder will have a chance tonight to sweep the defending NBA champions in the first round.

The series was tight through two games in Oklahoma City but the Thunder really came together in Game 3, blowing out Dallas on their home floor and taking the commanding 3-0 series lead.

Kevin Durant came alive in Game 3 after two tough shooting nights at home he made 11-of-15 shots in Game 3 and scored 31 points. He started off great scoring 15 first quarter points and making three 3-pointers.

If Durant can have another game like that it might be too much for this Mavericks team to overcome.

Russell Westbrook has continued to play at a very high level in this series as he just seems to not be challenged enough on offense. He is getting to the spots he wants to very easily for his pull-up jumper and hitting it at a high clip in the series (5-for-9 in Game 3).

Durant and Westbrook aren’t two players who are going to take it easy because their team is up 3-0. They haven’t taken a game off all season. So unless the Mavericks can improve drastically and you have to imagine their motivation will be lacking, look forward to this series not returning to Oklahoma City.

Dirk Nowitzki played two very tough games in the first two averaging 28 points in each but didn’t come up as his usual clutch self in the ends. The Game 3 loss felt like a crushing one for him and a changing of the guards in the West.

Last year’s Thunder team probably isn’t up 3-0 in this series. Winning those first two games then coming out the way they did in Game 3 is new to this year. The team is growing up and doing so in the playoffs, the most important time.

There were questions surrounding the Thunder heading into the playoffs and the Mavericks even looked like a team that could upset them or give them a very tough series. It’s clear now that the Thunder hold their destiny in their own hands. They have the talent to go all the way and if they can keep playing at this level they just might.

The game tonight will tip at 7:30 p.m. EST on TNT.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder had one of their most impressive wins of the year last night beating Dallas 95-79 to take a 3-0 lead in the series.

The Thunder squeaked by with victories in Games 1 and 2 despite poor shooting nights from Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowitzki getting looks in the clutch.

It all came together last night for the Thunder though with Durant starting out hot scoring 15 in the first quarter and making three threes then Russell Westbrook coming on strong in the third quarter.

Durant made 11-of-15 shots last night and 4-of-6 threes for his 31 points. He made all four of his shot attempts from 16-to-23 feet as well.

Westbrook hit 2-of-5 threes and knocked down 5-of-9 16-to-23 footers to get his 20 points.

When Durant and Westbrook shoot like that they become the best team in the league.

We’ve seen through three games of this series Westbrook completely locked in on offense. His pull-up jumper has been money and Jason Kidd has done nothing to slow it down. Whether or not Westbrook is hitting that pull-up is a great litmus test to see how good of an all-around game he will play.

When the Thunder played their best basketball during the regular season it was largely because Westbrook was so efficient with his midrange game. When he started to miss that shot and force drives to the rim the Thunder started losing.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

It’s weird that a player as gifted athletically as Westbrook is really better off not attacking nearly as much as we’d normally call for a player like him to, especially in the playoffs.

But within the constraints of the Thunder’s personnel when Westbrook is aggressive by getting his jumper instead of attacking the Thunder are a much better team.

The same goes for Durant in a sense. When he is looking to create off the dribble and post-up and driving into the paint for contact, the team isn’t necessarily at their best. Durant as a catch-and-shoot guy and running off screens looking to immediately pull on an open jumper is when he becomes deadly.

That’s the thing about these two. The fact that they are so great all-around and can do multiple things is why they are All-Stars and looked at as some of the best players in the league. But now in the playoffs when they can’t feast on poor defenses is when they need to hold back in a way and settle for jump shots.

It sounds crazy telling a team like the Thunder to settle for more jump shots but I’m only talking about their two best players.

James Harden needs to turn into an animal when it comes to attacking the paint.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

Harden has killed Dallas so far driving and looking to score. He’s attempted 26 free throws in three games against Dallas and made 23. He’s only shooting .375 percent from the field but it hasn’t matter because of his ability to drive.

And if you look at the Thunder during most of the regular season it’s Durant and Westbrook that do most of the driving while Harden will tend to be more comfortable shooting a lot of threes (I say more comfortable and I realize that Harden really started attacking more this season).

I said before the playoffs started that it would be very important who the Thunder played in the first round in determining how far they go in the playoffs. It was going to have to be a team that made them play good basketball to beat them.

When I saw they would be playing Dallas I was pretty worried about the potential upset but assuming the Thunder get by Dallas (and they definitely should now) it is going to be good for them in the long run.

Had the Thunder been matched up with Denver and Durant and Westbrook were able to dominate by attacking I don’t think it would have been as good for them.

The way the Thunder trio played last night was perfect. If they play the rest of the postseason with the same mind sets and agendas then they will hit their potential.

Will it be enough though to beat the San Antonio’s and Miami’s of the world? Well, that is going to come down to how many midrange jumpers Westbrook makes.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks 95-79 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 31 points in the game and got off to a great start with 15 in the first quarter.

The Thunder led 50-41 at halftime and started the third quarter off great.

Russell Westbrook led the charge knocking down three straight jumpers in the first five minutes of the third. Westbrook after a slow start finished with 20 points in the game.

Westbrook and Thabo Sefolosha made back-to-back 3-pointers with 5:53 left in the third to put Oklahoma City up 66-50. The Thunder led 75-57 after three.

Derek Fisher and Daequan Cook gave the Thunder a solid lift off the bench combining for 19 points and five three pointers.

Fisher made a driving layup with 10:41 left in the game to cap a 15-1 run and give the Thunder an 83-58 lead.

Dirk Nowitzki struggled all night going 6-for-15 from the field for 17 points and also picked up a technical foul in the first quarter.

The game felt like a changing of the guard in the West. The Thunder have improved greatly this year and getting by Dallas while they are not the same team as last year is a big step for them.

Now up 3-0 the series seems a lock but you never know. This Dallas team however never seemed to totally have it this season and trying to fight back from down 3-0 seems very unlikely.

Game 4 will be Saturday at 7:30 p.m. EST.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant leads the way with 21 first half points as the Oklahoma City Thunder lead the Dallas Mavericks 50-41 at halftime of Game 3.

Durant came out hot scoring 15 in the first and making three 3-pointers.

Russell Westbrook has reversed roles with Durant tonight struggling from the field going 3-for-11 with eight points.

The Thunder got out to a great start and an again frustrated Mavericks team picked up two technical fouls on Dirk Nowitzki and then head coach Rick Carlisle arguing calls.

Oklahoma City led 32-26 after one and would lead 48-33 with 3:51 to go in the second quarter.

Dallas has played a matchup zone with some decent success so far in this game. It’s not really a traditional zone as they do a lot of switching and matching up but it gave the Thunder some trouble early in the second as Oklahoma City settled for too many 3-pointers early in the shot clock.

The Thunder settled down and figured it out some and were able to increase their lead.

Dirk and Jason Kidd lead Dallas with 10 points apiece.

Dallas is shooting 36.8 percent from the field and has attempted four more free throws than the Thunder so far. The Thunder didn’t attempt a free throw in the second quarter.

The Thunder will need to get back to the line some more in the second half to make sure they win. This would obviously be a huge win and probably mean that the series is over. The Thunder have come out strong and really shouldn’t waste what’s already been a good shooting night from Durant.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder will go into Dallas tonight with a chance to take a commanding 3-0 series lead. They did well surviving the first two games and coming away with victories.

Kevin Durant struggled mightily shooting in the first two games with a 10-of-27 showing in Game 1 and 5-for-17 mark in Game 2.

One would thing Durant has to improve a lot on those numbers tonight. He has gotten a lot of looks and taken mostly jump shots. His teammates did a good job of playing well to help the Thunder win despite his low shooting nights but now on the road Durant will have to start knocking down those looks.

Russell Westbrook has been great so far leading the Thunder in scoring. He really has his midrange pull-up working which is always the test for how well he is playing. As long as he can keep that going tonight his entire game will continue to click.

Dirk Nowitzki has averaged 28 per game so far in this series but he just doesn’t seem as dominant as last year. It is still a journey to figure out who will guard him in the post. Dirk seems to have Serge Ibaka’s number and Kendrick Perkins has had some success.

Nick Collison seems to do the best job against Dirk but he does give up a lot of height. The best lineup for the Thunder when it comes to defending Dirk might be Collison and Ibaka on the floor together which seems to never happen.

James Harden has played very well in the first two games of the series and is leading the Thunder in assists. But Harden always tails off some on the road so we will see if he can continue to be aggressive with the ball tonight or if his game seems more subdued.

A key for Dallas will be making three-point shots. Dallas has the personnel to convert open threes so it will be on the Thunder’s watch to play hard defense for the entire shot clock and hustle hard to get out and contest ever shot. The Thunder have done well in this department in the last six quarters of this series.

The Thunder obviously don’t have to win tonight being up 2-0 but it is quite the opportunity to go up 3-0 against the defending champs. A loss wouldn’t be devastating but we’ve seen how Dallas can take over control of a series after winning a game and the Thunder need to avoid that at all costs.

You can also download the podcast here.

Durant went 10-for-27 in Game 1 and then 5-for-17 in Game 2. He has made some big plays most notably the Game 1 game-winner but getting that shooting number up will definitely be a priority for the Thunder moving forward.

Something that Oklahoma City has tried to get better at this season is getting Durant touches closer to the rim and in the post. Durant posted up 10.5 percent of the time this season. Last year he was only posting 6.5 percent of the time and two years ago 5.7 percent.

The 10.5 percent is still kind of low for a player like Durant but a step in the right direction as far as most people are concerned.

In the first two games against Dallas in this series, Durant has posted up 13 times. That doesn’t seem like a ton but it is more than he did during the regular season.

Durant has gone 4-for-8 from the field in those 13 possessions, turned the ball over three times and been fouled twice (once in the act of shooting).

Durant has flat out not appeared very comfortable posting up in these two games. One reason is that Durant has been guarded primarily by Shawn Marion who does a very good job on him.

Durant essentially does two things when he is in the post: he either shoots a jump shot over his right shoulder or tries to go strong to the rim over his left shoulder (or simply toward the middle of the floor usually).

Durant isn’t strong enough yet to develop the kind of post game that Dirk Nowitzki has and that’s surely what Durant is trying to eventually do already using that stepback one-footer (which by the way Durant has far from mastered as it seems to almost never go in).

So what should Durant be doing when he gets the ball in the post against Dallas? We know Oklahoma City is going to continue to try and get him touches down there and it’s a spot where he should be able to score since he is always 4-to-5 inches taller than his defender.

The best thing he ever does is face up. This is usually because he will get pushed out too far and in Durant’s case that’s almost a better thing. When he faces up he can either simply shoot over his defender (probably the best case) or drive strong to his right and draw contact.

When he drive to his right while having his back to the basket he seems to always lose his balance. But when he is already facing he is much more comfortable and can elevate on his way to the rim.

But it’s not always going to be easy for him to face up the way Dallas defends him. They like to get as close as possible to him and really body him up. This means Durant will have to try and go to shots with his back to the basket.

He looks the most comfortable going to the fadeaway over his right shoulder (most righties do). The one problem here and why Durant isn’t more effective with this shot is that he’s not one to put a lot of arc on his jumper like Dirk would. And while fading back that makes the shot very difficult to drop.

I’d like to see Durant try and go glass when he uses his fadeaway. He doesn’t do it often so I’m not going to hold my breath on this one but I think he’d make a higher percentage of these shots.

Either way, when he has his back to the basket he should almost always be going to that fadeaway. It’s an automatic clean look if nothing else.

Depending on how the game is being called I wouldn’t mind him trying to drive but it seems the only good that ever comes from that is a foul being called.

At the end of the day, it’s nice that Durant is posting more but I don’t know how useful it is going to be especially when he has a very solid defender like Marion covering him.

He’s just not ready to dominate from that position and until he learns to, the Thunder might be stuck one notch below the level of champion.

Dirk received an incidental elbow from Serge Ibaka after making a jump shot and then gave Ibaka a bump running back down the court. A few plays later, Dirk was shoved around some by Kendrick Perkins underneath the rim and then lost his cool throwing an elbow at Perkins after the play.

The Thunder have gotten under Dirk’s skin and they got the Mavericks and head coach Rick Carlisle complaining about the officiating.

But have the Thunder been too physical with Dirk? Have they been dirty?

Absolutely not.

Carlisle doesn’t seem to think so but I see nothing wrong with how Oklahoma City has played Dirk. You have to get physical with him and it’s not like they’re getting away with much. Dirk has gone 20-for-21 from the free throw line in two games so far against the Thunder. The officials really tightened things up last night especially in the second half as the teams combined for 71 free throw attempts in Game 2.

“That was a physical, intense, hard-fought playoff basketball game,” Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said after the game. “I’m proud of our guys the way they battled at first there at the start and we finished up playing tough, hard, defensive-minded basketball.”

If you’re Dirk, the defending champion and Finals MVP, you can’t expect to not be played so physically. That’s how he’s been defended his whole career and that’s how people have had success defending him.

It’s not like Kendrick Perkins is a rookie or something either. He’s been around and people know what he does. He uses his elbows a little more than most, sets moving screens and gives you that extra nudge when it’s not entirely necessary. It doesn’t feel good but it’s not dirty. It’s just how he earns a paycheck and it is also extremely important for this Thunder team.

The series is going to go back to Dallas now and expect Dirk to get a few more calls than he did in Games 1 and 2. That will be a tough thing for Oklahoma City to overcome for sure. Remember last year in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, Dirk went 24-for-24 from the free throw line.

Things will change some when the series shifts to Dallas, hopefully it’s not too drastic though.

I take a look at the Game 2′s last night and give my thought on Rajon Rondo’s suspension and Amare Stoudemire’s injury. I break down if the Knicks have a chance to comeback in their series and how the Thunder have done so far against the Mavericks.

You can also download the podcast here.

Serge Ibaka had been playing Dirk for most of the game and Scott Brooks switched Perkins on him late. Perkins forced Dirk into a miss and two turnovers and did it with simply great effort and energy.

In Game 2 we expected to see the same from the Thunder, going with Perkins on Dirk. It wasn’t featured early with Ibaka still getting some run on Dirk and foul trouble for everyone. But we did see the matchup late.

Dirk missed two huge shots in the final minutes, shots we’re not used to seeing him miss. He got great looks and he got them because Dallas adjusted to Perkins covering him.

In Game 1 Perkins covered Dirk in isolation and back-to-the-basket situations. That’s where Dirk was killing Ibaka.

Perkins took that away so Dallas went to using Dirk in the pick-and-roll when Perkins was on him in Game 2.

The first of Dirk’s misses was the most surprising. He became wide open for a three from the left wing after setting a screen for Jason Terry. Russell Westbrook was trailing Terry and Perkins forced to show at least a little. That left Dirk wide open and he missed the seemingly automatic look.

Dallas went to the same set on their next possession and this time Jason Kidd found Dirk open rolling to the basket. Ibaka came over to help and the set accomplished what it set out to at least to an extent and got Perkins away from Dirk.

Dirk posted Ibaka on the left block and went to his patented fadeaway one-footer. He did not get the roll and the Thunder would win the game because of these two misses.

At first look, I thought Dirk should have gone at Ibaka the way he always does when he has success: spinning to that right shoulder and getting contact going to the rim. Instead he went to the fallaway and Ibaka actually played the move well reacting very quickly to the spin and maybe Dirk sensed this and that’s why he went for that shot.

Dirk has been great in these first two games despite Dallas losing both. It will be a challenge for Oklahoma City to continue to play him decently heading on the road for the next two games.

But we’ve seen something we’re not used to with Dirk and that’s him not coming up absolutely huge in the final moments of games. The Thunder have done a good job effecting this and it may lead to them eventually winning this series.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder dodged bullets down the stretch on their way to a 102-99 Game 2 win over the Dallas Mavericks to take a 2-0 first round series lead.

Dirk Nowitzki missed a wide-open 3-pointer with the Mavericks leading 97-96 with 1:13 left in the game.

The Thunder then got bailed out on their next possession at the end of the shot clock with Jason Terry committing a bad foul on Kevin Durant. Durant made both free throws to put the Thunder ahead 98-97.

Dirk would get another good look on the next possession down on the left block with Serge Ibaka switching on to him. Dirk went to his patented stepback one-footed jumper and did not get the friendly roll, not the roll that Durant got in Game 1.

James Harden would make all four of his free throw attempts in the final 25 seconds to close the door on the Mavericks. Harden finished the game with 15 points, was 2-for-7 from the floor but 10-of-10 at the line.

Durant had another tough shooting night going 5-for-17 but still scored 26 points thanks to 14-for-16 at the line and pulled down 10 rebounds. He also had seven turnovers in the game.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Russell Westbrook carried the load again for the most part with his midrange game clicking again. He scored 29 points and had just two assists.

The Thunder had just 13 assists as a team but went 37-for-39 from the free throw line.

The Mavericks were hitting from three in Game 1 but tonight made just 5-of-23 attempts. Dirk led the team with 31 points and made all 11 of his free throw attempts.

The Thunder went small again a lot in the second half and fourth quarter with Derek Fisher on the floor instead of Ibaka. Fisher scored11 points in the game including a big 3-pointer to put the Thunder ahead 92-88 with 5:26 left in the game.

Dallas wasn’t able to exploit the Thunder going small as much because they went small too with Dirk at the five and a lineup with Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry and Delonte West.

The Thunder certainly have passed the test in these first two home games, grinding out close victories in both. They started defeat straight in the eyes twice and rose to the occasion each time. This is something that didn’t happen last year for them.

The series is not over though. Dallas is ready to go back home and defend their homecourt and wait to come back and steal one in Oklahoma City.

Game 3 will be played on Thursday night and the game will again be on TNT.

The Thunder lead Dallas 57-50 at halftime behind 15 points from Russell Westbrook and 14 from Kevin Durant.

Dirk Nowitzki is again looking like 2011 Playoffs Dirk with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Dirk had some chippy moments in the first quarter as well with Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins.

The Thunder went on a 21-4 run starting with 1:22 left in the first quarter and led 42-27 with just under seven minutes to play in the half. Dallas fought back some when Dirk checked back in.

Derek Fisher helped give the Thunder second-unit a nice lift scoring eight points on 4-for-5 shooting.

Jason Terry who was very hot from the start in Game 1 didn’t score until the final 30 seconds tonight and has just three points.

The Thunder are executing pretty well overall tonight and if they can turn up the defense some in the second half they should be able to come away with the victory. This game feels like the only way they’d let it slip away is if they suddenly went cold from the field.

A 2-0 lead heading to Dallas will be extremely important for the Thunder in this series.

Dirk Nowitzki and Kendrick Perkins exchanged some rough shoves early on in Game 2 of the first round series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks.

Nowitzki was frustrated by some physical work by Perkins on the offensive glass and lost his cool throwing a blatant elbow to Perkins’ chest. Perkins immediately retaliated with what almost looked like a punch.

The two received technicals and the incident didn’t escalate any further.

Nowitzki was frustrated a play earlier when he was hit in the face inadvertently by Serge Ibaka following a made jump shot and gave Ibaka a shove running back on defense.

The Thunder have played physical with Nowitzki because that is the best way to handle the reining Finals MVP. Nowitzki should be used to this but obviously felt it was excessive tonight.

The series is getting chippy.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder came back to win Game 1 at home against the Dallas Mavericks Saturday night thanks to Kevin Durant doing this.

Durant struggled in the game however going 10-for-27 from the field for 25 points.

The Thunder relied more on Russell Westbrook and his midrange game which was on point. Westbrook scored 28 points to lead the Thunder but his best work was his defense on Jason Terry in the fourth quarter.

Terry was 8-of-9 from the field with 20 points in the first three quarters before Westbrook switched on to him and held him to 0-for-1 shooting and 0 points in the fourth.

Dirk Nowitzki came alive in the fourth after a slow start and the Mavericks were truly looking like the team that win the NBA title last season. Nowitzki scores 11 points of Dallas’ final 13 points but Kendrick Perkins slows him down in the final minutes to help allow the Thunder to come back.

Oklahoma City played with a much better defensive intensity in the second half and they will need to repeat that in the first half of Game 2 to ensure another victory.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Serge Ibaka played great offensively with 22 points but can the Thunder expect that again from him tonight?

Durant will need to be more efficient and Westbrook will need to continue hitting his jump shot. But the Thunder need to get to the line more too only attempting 20 free throws in Game 1.

Westbrook only attempted one free throw and when he’s hitting his jumper sometimes becomes more one-dimensional in his approach. He needs to find a better balance with attacking and looking for his jump shot.

Dallas made 10-of-22 three-pointers and they shouldn’t shoot that high of a mark in Game 2 tonight.

It felt like Dallas played great and Oklahoma City was scrambling to get back in the game Saturday night. It is then very fortunate the Thunder are able to pull out the win and be in position to go up 2-0 tonight.

James Harden continues his strong play against Dallas in Game 1 with 19 points and 9-of-10 free throw shooting. He is the key for this Thunder team to go far in the playoffs and will be especially vital in this matchup with Dallas.

I look back at the games from the weekend and give my thoughts on all the series. I look at the Miami Heat and their now easier path to the NBA Finals and I explain why the Spurs should be the favorites to win the NBA title and how the Thunder could beat them.

You can also download the podcast here.

Dallas was executing everything and making clutch shots and the game looked like it was going to come down to the Thunder executing on offense, something they didn’t do last year in the playoffs and something that even this year they still receive a lot of heat for.

They did a great job last night.

Trailing 96-94 with 1:03 left in the game, Thunder head coach Scott Brooks called timeout and called for one of the Thunder’s best sets that they’ve been running recently.

James Harden inbounds to Russell Westbrook who sets up at the top of the key waiting for Kevin Durant and Kendrick Perkins to come up and set a double screen.

Westbrook comes off the Perkins pick to the right predetermined and waits for Perkins to set another pick on Durant’s man to try and free Durant up at the top of the key.

In the past few weeks when the Thunder have run this set it has every time gotten Durant wide open at the top of the key. Last night, Dallas defended it well and Westbrook didn’t make the defense commit too much on him so Durant was covered tightly by Shawn Marion at the top of the key when Westbrook passes to him.

Perkins stays around Durant, reading the defense and realizing that Durant isn’t wide open and sets a ball screen on Marion. Durant uses it well and gets into the paint by Marion and Perkins’ man Ian Mahinmi.

Dirk Nowitzki is forced to come up and help on Durant who is ready (having just dumped off to Serge Ibaka for a dunk a few possession earlier) to find Ibaka cutting who finishes with the and-one dunk.

This has been Oklahoma City’s most effective set the past few weeks and it was great to see them go to it out of a timeout when they really needed a bucket.

Dallas covering it well was kind of a blessing because if Durant had been left wide open and tempted to take the three, he may have gone for it and missed since he was off with his shot for most of the night.

This was a better set for Oklahoma City to run at this time because if they had gone to the Westbrook-Durant pick-and-pop (which they do often down the stretch), it may have just resulted in a switch and Durant forced into a tough isolation jumper.

This is evidence of the Thunder taking steps in the right direction with their play down the stretch of tight games.

Kendrick Perkins would guard Nowitzki the rest of the way.

The Thunder went on a 7-0 run after that with Perkins forcing Nowitzki into a missed three-pointer and then two turnovers on three of the next four possessions.

Nowitzki struggled to start the game but came alive in the fourth quarter and began looking like the Finals MVP again.

Ibaka is a great defender in his own right but the matchup with Nowitzki favors Dallas. Ibaka is better as a help-side shot blocker and playing up tightly on Nowitzki isn’t an easy task.

Perkins’ value was realized tonight and it was huge.

The Thunder were struggling earlier in the quarter trying to go small and get offense using Kevin Durant at the four. Durant’s shot was not falling so there was no advantage for the Thunder and they were giving up better interior defense by going small.

I love Durant at the four on offense but this team is better when they have Perkins and Ibaka out there with the big three.

That showed tonight and especially with Ibaka giving something offensively as well the Thunder looked their best in the final minutes.

Ibaka covered Nowitzki for most of the game but I think it will benefit the Thunder to have Perkins cover him some more that way Ibaka can also be used as the help guy to block shots.

The one problem here is that Perkins could get in foul trouble early if he’s matched up with Nowitzki. It will be up to the entire team to play with the intensity on defense they did down the stretch to help Perkins with this assignment.