Mavericks Dominate Thunder

The Dallas Mavericks never trailed as they took the series lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder 2 games to 1 in the Western Conference Finals.  Dallas jumped out to a 23-point lead early in the 2nd quarter and held on to win 93-87 in Oklahoma City.

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said during the week the defense had to play better.  Dallas responded in a big way, led by Tyson Chandler, who grabbed 15 rebounds.  Dallas put pressure on the Thunder all night.  Oklahoma City head coach Scott Brooks said “They did a great job from the start with their defensive pressure, they took us out of our sets and got us playing on our heels. They were very physical, pushed us off our spots.”

Dallas was led offensively by Shawn Marion, who was 9-13 shooting for 18 points.  Dirk Nowitzki also scored 18 points, though he was flat to start the game, missing 10 of his first 14 attempts.  Jason Kidd scored 13, mostly on his 3 of 4 from 3-point range.  Kidd added 6 rebounds and 8 assists.

Jason Terry came off the bench and added 13 points and 6 assists of his own as the Dallas bench reasserted themselves over the Thunder reserves.

Game 4 will be Monday night in Oklahoma City.