That’s more like it! Now we have a Playoff series worth watching! The Oklahoma City Thunder may have battered the Mavericks in Game 1 but I told you that the games afterwards would be closer and there you go. The injured Mavs escaping OKC with a one point win.
But let’s be honest, it could’ve easily been Oklahoma’s game but a potential buzzer beating tip-in by Steven Adams was waved off and the Mavs evened the score just like that.
”I’m very proud of our guys and the way they responded after one of the most disappointing games in franchise history,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. ”It’s a group with a lot of pride, and obviously, a lot of resilience.”
Carlisle has the right to be proud, I mean how often do you get to see Raymond Felton invade the highlight reel with a 21 point, 11 rebound statline? If Felton can make the extra effort, so can the rest of the Mavs. It’s only a matter of time before Wes Matthews finally fulfills his contract and actually, you know, score in double digits maybe?
But this wasn’t just the Mavericks, they Thunder had a hand in thier own downfall. Kevin Durant was 7-33 shooting, his worst postseason shooting performance to date.
”It was a bad shooting night for me,” Durant said. ”It’s part of it. I wish it didn’t happen tonight, but it’s a part of it. I got some great looks all night and I just didn’t knock them down. It was just one of those nights.”
Russell Westbrook got it done though, 19 points, 14 rebounds & 6 assists but I’m surprised he didn’t do more. He certainly looked animated when Charlie Villanueva invaded his pre-game dance with Cameron Payne.
But alas, Westbrook couldn’t do it on his own, KD had a bad night and the Dallas Mavericks took advantage of it and just like that their worst Playoff performance is a distant memory. Now let’s see how the teams respond in Game 3. This series is progressing very nicely.
