Nowitzki went nuts in the fourth quarter to bring the Mavs back — here’s a look.
Category: NBA (Page 46 of 595)
The Miami Heat are one game away from the NBA Finals after their 101-93 overtime win against Chicago.
The Bulls had their chances in this one, but like the Thunder last night, they just couldn’t get quality looks in crunch time. And for all the (justifiable) criticism that Russell Westbrook has taken over the last couple of weeks, Derrick Rose has really struggled of late, shooting just 33% over the last three games (all losses), including a pretty dreadful 1-for-7, two-turnover effort in the 4th quarter and overtime tonight. He had seven turnovers on the evening.
One could argue that Rose has to play super-aggressive basketball since he doesn’t have someone like Kevin Durant to carry the load, and they’d be right. But the bottom line is that the Bulls aren’t going to win when Rose is only making 33% of his attempts and has more turnovers than assists.
But back to the Heat, who deserve credit for their smothering defense tonight. They forced Rose into all sorts of mistakes and held the Bulls to just 40% shooting from the field.
But the most glaring difference in this game was Mike Miller. He scored 12 points (on 5-of-8 shooting) and gathered nine boards off the bench. He was especially big in the fourth quarter when Miami made its run; he went 4-for-4 (for nine points) to go with three rebounds. That’s the kind of play that Pat Riley envisioned when he signed Miller to a full mid-level deal last summer.
After a Kevin Durant three-pointer with 5:05 to play in regulation, the Thunder led 99-84 and looked destined to tie the series up. But somehow they ended up in overtime — how did that happen?
It was a combination of two factors: 1) Dirk Nowitzki took over offensively for the Mavs, and 2) the Thunder had several poor possessions down the stretch.
Take a look at the Mavs’ final 10 possessions:
4:48 Shawn Marion makes two free throws
4:33 Dirk Nowitzki makes 1 of 2 free throws
4:09 Dirk Nowitzki turnover
3:48 Jason Kidd makes two free throws
3:15 Dirk Nowitzki makes 13-foot jumper
2:11 Dirk Nowitzki makes 24-foot three point jumper (Jason Kidd assists)
2:00 Dirk Nowitzki makes 14-foot jumper
1:25 Dirk Nowitzki makes 5-foot two point shot
0:39 Shawn Marion makes 1 of 2 free throws
0:06 Dirk Nowitzki makes two free throws
That’s 17 points on 10 possessions, or 1.7 points per possession, which is outstanding.
Now, the Thunder’s final possessions:
5:07 Russell Westbrook misses 25-foot three point jumper
4:33 Serge Ibaka misses 6-foot jumper
4:20 Russell Westbrook misses 17-foot jumper
3:48 Russell Westbrook lost ball (Jason Kidd steals)
3:32 Kevin Durant misses 22-foot jumper
2:49 Kevin Durant misses 25-foot three point jumper
2:32 Russell Westbrook makes two point shot
2:11 Russell Westbrook misses two free throws
1:38 Russell Westbrook misses 15-foot jumper
1:07 Kevin Durant lost ball (Shawn Marion steals)
0:40 Russell Westbrook misses 16-foot jumper
0:20 Thabo Sefolosha misses 23-foot three point jumper
0:01 Shawn Marion blocks Kevin Durant’s 30-foot three point jumper
That’s two points on the Thunder’s final 13 possessions, or 0.2 points per possession. They went 1-for-11 from the field with two turnovers. Westbrook went 1-for-6 with a turnover and zero assists in the final 5:07. OKC was just unable to get good shots when the Mavs tightened up the defense in crunch time. Durant was getting pushed around while Westbrook was doing his usual dribble-around-and-fire-up-a-shot act.
Overtime was more of the same for OKC. Take a look:
4:26 Kevin Durant misses 24-foot three point jumper
3:54 Thabo Sefolosha makes jumper (Kevin Durant assists)
2:51 Russell Westbrook misses 25-foot three point jumper
2:31 Russell Westbrook step out of bounds turnover
1:54 Serge Ibaka makes 17-foot jumper (Russell Westbrook assists)
1:01 Kevin Durant lost ball (Jason Kidd steals)
0:26 Russell Westbrook misses 5-foot running jumper
0:09 Kevin Durant misses 24-foot three point jumper
0:01 Kevin Durant misses 25-foot three point jumper
Over the final 10 minutes, Russell Westbrook went 1-for-8 with two turnovers and an assist. The turnover in overtime was inexplicable. The ball was tapped back on the Mavs’ end of the court and it hit Jason Terry’s hand as it headed over towards the Dallas bench. Westbrook should have let the ball go, but instead tried to save it. It’s what I like to call “dumb hustle.”
It’s no surprise that Westbrook struggled down the stretch; it has been a common theme in these Playoffs. But Durant was pretty awful too. Here’s his line for the final 10 minutes: 0-for-6 from the field (0-5 3PT), one assist and two turnovers. Combined, the Thunder’s two stars went 1-for-14 from the field with four turnovers and two assists.
And that’s how you blow a 15-point lead with five minutes to play, only to lose in overtime. In total, they were outscored 28-6 over the final 10 minutes.
The NY Daily News has a quote from an unnamed Thunder vet that is bound to stir up some controversy.
As one Thunder veteran said, privately, “He thinks he’s better than Kevin Durant.”
Not only that, but Westbrook has the backing of Thunder GM Sam Presti, who made a name for himself with his drafting of Westbrook with the fourth pick in 2008. Presti’s micromanagement behind the scenes has caused some friction between the head of the front office and his coaches, but Brooks didn’t pay any attention to that when he saw that Maynor was his best option to even the series.
Who is this veteran? And why is he dropping nuggets like this while the Thunder are in the middle of a knock-down, drag-out playoff series with the Mavs? Perhaps it’s a former player, not someone currently on the roster.
The thing that interests me about this story is the take of CBS writer Royce Young, who had this to say about Westbrook’s belief in his ability.
But when you’re an All-Star, a second-team All-NBA player that’s as confident in yourself as Westbrook, would you really not think you’re better than Durant. Not us in the general public here. We all know Durant is better. In terms of Westbrook, is it really so bad to think that? In fact, isn’t it probably a good thing?
No, it’s not a good thing. The best teams usually have players that know their roles. Pau Gasol doesn’t think he’s better than Kobe, and Kevin Garnett doesn’t think he should be shooting the ball instead of Paul Pierce. The last really great team to have a pecking order issue was the Shaq/Kobe-era Lakers, and look what happened to them. When Kobe accepted his role, the duo was able to win three straight titles. As soon as he started to try to take over alpha dog status, they crashed and burned in the Finals against a much more cohesive Detroit Pistons team.
If Westbrook does in fact think he’s better than Durant, then there’s trouble brewing in OKC. This isn’t the case of a young upstart trying to take the mantle from an established vet. These are two young players that will be playing with each other for a while, and if Westbrook can’t accept his role as second fiddle, then there are going to be problems down the line.
Scratch that — there might be problems right now.
For the first half of the fourth quarter, Russell Wesbrook was playing well. He went 2-for-3 from the field, hit a pair of free throws, and had one assist. His play helped the Thunder cut the Mavs’ lead from 12 points to eight, giving OKC a shot to win the game going down the stretch.
But starting at the six-minute mark, Westbrook was pretty dreadful. He went 1-for-5 from the field, 1-for-2 from the free throw line and turned the ball over twice. That’s just four points on those eight possessions.
Is it fair to focus solely on Westbrook? No, there’s enough blame to go around for the Thunder. OKC shot 36% from the field. Kevin Durant was 7-of-22 from the field and 0-for-8 from long range. In fact, if it wasn’t for Westbrook’s made three in the final moments, the Thunder would have set a record for most three pointers attempted without a make. (They finished 1-for-17 from long range.) Westbrook was the Thunder’s most effective player — he finished with 30 points and four assists, but he also had seven turnovers.
Dirk Nowitzki struggled for most of the game, but came on down the stretch. He had 10 points in the final 7:22 and dealt with the physical play of Nick Collison pretty well. These Mavs continue to show great resiliency.
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