THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant thought he might have just given away a victory and let the Dallas Mavericks steal another one in heartbreaking fashion.

Then he found a way to take it right back.

Durant scored 30 points and hit a three-pointer at the final buzzer to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 104-102 win against Dallas on Thursday night in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals.

“As a kid, of course you dream about hitting a game-winning shot in the NBA,” said Durant, who has hit two other game-winners at the buzzer in his five seasons.

“It’s a dream come true.”

The Thunder let Dallas wipe away a five-point deficit in the final 46 seconds to go ahead on Vince Carter’s three-pointer with 1.4 seconds remaining. That was just enough time for Thabo Sefolosha to get the ball to Durant, who drilled a three from the right wing that improved his team to 4-0.

“It was crazy, a crazy course of events,” Durant said. “When two tough teams always go at it, it always comes down to the last play.”

Dirk Nowitzki had 29 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Mavericks, whose title defence is off to a 0-3 start. Dallas had been blown out in its first two losses against Miami and Denver before letting a close one slip away.

“I think the more we go out and just play the game itself more, good things happen on the court,” Shawn Marion said.

“We’ve got to just go out there and stop worrying about other things and just go out there and just play the game and just play hard.”

Russell Westbrook had 16 points in his second straight subpar performance, but he made up for it with a few critical plays down the stretch.

He started the game 3 for 11 with seven turnovers before getting a longer-than-usual benching in favour of Eric Maynor. He returned when the game got close midway through the fourth quarter, providing a momentary lead with a two-handed breakaway dunk that turned into a three-point play.

He followed that with a 17-footer from the right wing for a 96-93 lead, but the Mavericks — who made it a habit to stage late comebacks against Oklahoma City in last season’s West finals — had a few tricks left.

Nowitzki tied it at 96 with a three-pointer but, after a Durant jumper, was called for a technical foul for arguing an offensive foul. Durant hit that foul shot and Westbrook added another jumper from the right elbow to put Oklahoma City up 101-96 with 46 seconds left.

Jason Terry hit a three-pointer to get Dallas within two. Durant then missed a three-pointer at the other end and Serge Ibaka missed both of his free throws after getting fouled on an offensive rebound.

.Nowitzki pitched it back to Carter for the go-ahead three, and Durant blamed himself for going for a block against Nowitzki and leaving Carter open.

Durant returned to the bench for a timeout, with rookie Reggie Jackson screaming encouragement that he was going to hit the game-winner.

“I just tried to be confident, tell myself I could make it and luckily I did,” Durant said.

“It’s special to hit a game-winner,” he added. “The season’s still young. To beat the champs in the early season is always pretty cool, but we’ve got to move on and get ready for the next game.”

Ibaka finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks for Oklahoma City.

Terry had 16 points and nine assists, and Delonte West scored 15 for the Mavericks.

Durant scored 30 points and hit a 3-pointer at the final buzzer to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 104-102 win against Dallas on Thursday night in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals.

“As a kid, of course you dream about hitting a game-winning shot in the NBA,” said Durant, who has hit two other game-winners at the buzzer in his five seasons.

“It’s a dream come true.”

The Thunder let Dallas wipe away a five-point deficit in the final 46 seconds to go ahead on Vince Carter’s 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds remaining. That was just enough time for Thabo Sefolosha to get the ball to Durant, who drilled a 3 from the right wing that improved his team to 4-0.

“It was crazy, a crazy course of events,” Durant said. “When two tough teams always go at it, it always comes down to the last play.”

Dirk Nowitzki had 29 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Mavericks, whose title defense is off to a 0-3 start. Dallas had been blown out in its first two losses against Miami and Denver before letting a close one slip away.

“I think the more we go out and just play the game itself more, good things happen on the court,” Shawn Marion said.

“We’ve got to just go out there and stop worrying about other things and just go out there and just play the game and just play hard.”

Russell Westbrook had 16 points in his second straight subpar performance, but he made up for it with a few critical plays down the stretch.

He started the game 3 for 11 with seven turnovers before getting a longer-than-usual benching in favor of Eric Maynor. He returned when the game got close midway through the fourth quarter, providing a momentary lead with a two-handed breakaway dunk that turned into a three-point play.

He followed that with a 17-footer from the right wing for a 96-93 lead, but the Mavericks — who made it a habit to stage late comebacks against Oklahoma City in last season’s West finals — had a few tricks left.

Nowitzki tied it at 96 with a 3-pointer but, after a Durant jumper, was called for a technical foul for arguing an offensive foul. Durant hit that foul shot and Westbrook added another jumper from the right elbow to put Oklahoma City up 101-96 with 46 seconds left

Jason Terry hit a 3-pointer to get Dallas within two. Durant then missed a 3-pointer at the other end and Serge Ibaka missed both of his free throws after getting fouled on an offensive rebound.

Nowitzki pitched it back to Carter for the go-ahead 3, and Durant blamed himself for going for a block against Nowitzki and leaving Carter open.

Durant returned to the bench for a timeout, with rookie Reggie Jackson screaming encouragement that he was going to hit the game-winner.

“I just tried to be confident, tell myself I could make it and luckily I did,” Durant said.

“It’s special to hit a game-winner,” he added. “The season’s still young. To beat the champs in the early season is always pretty cool, but we’ve got to move on and get ready for the next game.”

Ibaka finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks for Oklahoma City.

Terry had 16 points and nine assists, and Delonte West scored 15 for the Mavericks.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Kevin Durant thought he might have just given away a victory and
let the Dallas Mavericks steal another one in heartbreaking
fashion.

Then he found a way to take it right back.

Durant scored 30 points and hit a 3-pointer at the final buzzer
to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 104-102 win against Dallas
on Thursday night in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference
finals.

“As a kid, of course you dream about hitting a game-winning shot
in the NBA,” said Durant, who has hit two other game-winners at the
buzzer in his five seasons.

“It’s a dream come true.”

The Thunder let Dallas wipe away a five-point deficit in the
final 46 seconds to go ahead on Vince Carter’s 3-pointer with 1.4
seconds remaining. That was just enough time for Thabo Sefolosha to
get the ball to Durant, who drilled a 3 from the right wing that
improved his team to 4-0.

“It was crazy, a crazy course of events,” Durant said. “When two
tough teams always go at it, it always comes down to the last
play.”

Dirk Nowitzki had 29 points and 10 rebounds to lead the
Mavericks, whose title defense is off to a 0-3 start. Dallas had
been blown out in its first two losses against Miami and Denver
before letting a close one slip away.

“I think the more we go out and just play the game itself more,
good things happen on the court,” Shawn Marion said.

“We’ve got to just go out there and stop worrying about other
things and just go out there and just play the game and just play
hard.”

Russell Westbrook had 16 points in his second straight subpar
performance, but he made up for it with a few critical plays down
the stretch.

He started the game 3 for 11 _ with one of the makes coming when
Jason Kidd blocked his shot and Brendan Haywood tipped it up and in
_ and had seven turnovers before getting a longer-than-usual
benching in favor of Eric Maynor.

Westbrook returned when the game got close midway through the
fourth quarter, providing a momentary lead with a two-handed
breakaway dunk that turned into a three-point play.

He followed that with a 17-footer from the right wing for a
96-93 lead, but the Mavericks _ who made it a habit to stage late
comebacks against Oklahoma City in last season’s West finals _ had
a few tricks left.

Nowitzki tied it at 96 with a 3-pointer but, after a Durant
jumper, was called for a technical foul for arguing an offensive
foul. Durant hit that foul shot and Westbrook added another jumper
from the right elbow to put Oklahoma City up 101-96 with 46 seconds
left.

Jason Terry hit a 3-pointer to get Dallas within two. Durant
then missed a 3-pointer at the other end and Serge Ibaka missed
both of his free throws after getting fouled on an offensive
rebound.

Nowitzki pitched it back to Carter for the go-ahead 3, and
Durant blamed himself for going for a block against Nowitzki and
leaving Carter open.

Durant returned to the bench for a timeout, with rookie Reggie
Jackson screaming encouragement that he was going to hit the
game-winner.

“I just tried to be confident, tell myself I could make it and
luckily I did,” Durant said.

“It’s special to hit a game-winner,” he added. “The season’s
still young. To beat the champs in the early season is always
pretty cool, but we’ve got to move on and get ready for the next
game.”

Ibaka finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks
for Oklahoma City.

Terry had 16 points and nine assists, and Delonte West scored 15
for the Mavericks, who rallied from 15 points down in the final 5
minutes of regulation in Game 4 of the West finals _ the teams’
last meeting that counted in the arena. Dallas also overcame an
eight-point, fourth-quarter deficit in the clinching Game 5.

Before the game, both Oklahoma City All-Stars downplayed a
report in The Oklahoman of a dispute between them during the team’s
win at Memphis a night earlier.

“It wasn’t nothing that people should be blowing out of
proportions,” Durant said. “It happens every single day. Teams go
through emotions, things happen. It’s a competitive sport.
Everybody’s not going to always come in and be happy every single
day.”

Westbrook simply said: “What happened? I don’t know what you’re
talking about.”

Coach Scott Brooks said the whole team was frustrated over a
series of bad possessions of pick-and-roll defense and everyone,
not just the superstars, but he didn’t see it as anything out of
the ordinary.

“To me, an altercation _ in my world, it’s a fight or it’s a
shove or something like that. A debate or a discussion is totally
different than an altercation but that did not happen,” Brooks
said. “I’ve been coaching these guys for four years and we haven’t
had one fight, which surprises me, and we haven’t had any issues
that were below the belt that I had to step in.”

Brooks said he thinks it drew more attention only because the
Thunder are now a prominent team.

“I don’t really think nothing happened. … Everybody on the
bench was yelling, the coaches was yelling, not at each other in a
bad way but trying to get everything in order,” Durant said.

NOTES: The Mavs beat the Thunder in five games in the West
finals, then lost both preseason games against Oklahoma City. Yet
another meeting is scheduled for Monday in Dallas. Thunder coach
Scott Brooks admitted revenge could be a factor. “Most of our guys
are not too far out of high school, so when your crosstown rival
beats you, you want to beat them the next Friday night,” Brooks
said. … After being outrebounded 98-68 in its first two games,
Dallas was even on the boards. Both teams had 38. … Oklahoma City
had 26 turnovers.

If the Oklahoma City Thunder had lost to the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 29, fans might have blamed Russell Westbrook. If the Mavericks had missed their 3-point attempt with 1.4 seconds left, fans might have credited Westbrook for turning his game around in the fourth quarter. However, the only thing Thunder fans will be talking about after the Thunder won this game, 104-102, is Kevin Durant.

Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
Wikimedia Commons

With 1.4 seconds remaining in the game, Vince Carter hit a 3-pointer with no one covering him to put Dallas on top 102-101. The Thunder had just over one second remaining and everyone knew they were going to pass the ball to Durant. Durant took the ball, turned and made a fade away jumper, sinking the shot with nothing but net.

It was a shot that no one should expect to make, but Durant not only made the game winning shot, but did it in style and the Thunder improved to 4-0 on the season.

However, over the first half it looked like the Mavericks were going to pick up where they left off in the Western Conference Finals last season. Westbrook continued to play poorly, not only missing most shots he attempted but also turning the ball over one too many times.

While watching the game, I grew more and more frustrated. It was like the 2010-11 Western Conference Finals all over again. The more frustrated Westbrook became, the more he kept trying to force more shots. He started taking shots he didn’t need to take and finally was yanked from the game.

Lucky for him that Scott Brooks is not a “fair weather coach,” as Brooks described himself during an in-game interview. Westbrook got a chance to redeem himself and turned things up in the final quarter, including a steal and a dunk by Westbrook to give the Thunder the lead. Westbrook finished with 16 points and four assists but turned the ball over seven times.

The star of the game, Durant finished with 30 points, the first player to score 30 or more in the first four games of a season since Kobe Bryant did it in 2005-06. He finished with a double-double, adding 11 rebounds as well as six assists. Serge Ibaka, who has struggled to score this season, finished with 16 points and blocked three shots for the second game in a row. Sixth man James Harden also finished with 15 points in the game.

Dirk Nowitzki, who dished the assist on what Dallas fans thought was the winning 3-pointer, finished the game with 29 points and ten rebounds.

Oklahoma City gets a day off and then welcomes Phoenix to town for a New Year’s Eve game on Saturday night.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and is an avid sports fan that has lived in Oklahoma for over 40 years. He used to religiously follow the Dallas Mavericks until Oklahoma City found a team to call their own.

Source: NBA.COM

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

In 2010-11, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks met in the Western Conference Finals, the winner getting a chance to play in the NBA Finals. The Mavericks won the series and went on to win the NBA Championship. It was the second year that the Thunder made it to the postseason and they did better each year.

Dirk Nowitzki
Wikimedia Commons

Now in 2010-11, the Thunder are ready to make that next step towards their destiny. They have started the new season with a 3-0 record, looking like the long NBA lockout didn’t affect them one bit. However, the Mavericks are headed in the other direction, sitting at 0-2, they have not won a game since they won the championship last season.

Kevin Durant leads the Thunder once again. In three games, Durant has surpassed 30 points each time, the first player in franchise history, Seattle and Oklahoma City combined, to open a season with three straight 30 point games. If Durant hits 30 points again against Dallas, he will be the first NBA player since Kobe Bryant (2005-06) to open a season with four consecutive 30-point games.

James Harden is the second leading scorer, the most valuable sixth man in the NBA. Harden heads in averaging 18.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists a game. Despite not starting, Harden still averages over 30 minutes a game. Russell Westbrook fell hard in Week 3, going 0-of-13 from the field, but still averages 15.3 points, 6.0 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals a game.

Dirk Nowitzki leads the Mavericks once again this season, the defending 2010-11 MVP. He only averages 20.5 points in the first two games this season with only 4.5 rebounds. Outside of Nowitzki, Jason Terry (14.5), Sean Williams (12.0) and Jason Kidd (10.5) are the only double digit scorers.

Newcomers Vince Carter (8.0 points) and Lamar Odom (5.0 points, 5.5 rebounds) have not found their comfort level yet in Dallas.

From the look, the Thunder have outperformed the Mavericks in every area of play this season. In the preseason, Oklahoma City swept Dallas in both their meetings. If they beat the Mavericks now, the Thunder will be 4-0 for the first time since 2003-04 when they played in Seattle. The game against Dallas tips off at 7:00 p.m. CT on December 29 in Oklahoma City.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and is an avid sports fan that has lived in Oklahoma for over 40 years. He used to religiously follow the Dallas Mavericks until Oklahoma City found a team to call their own.

Source: NBA.COM

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.