Dirked to death
There is no cure for Dirk Nowitzki: you let him run his course, and you hope he doesn’t do much damage. Tonight, it was a misplaced hope: the big guy was dead on from the floor, hitting 13 of 18 and racking up 35 points, not to mention 11 rebounds. (If you were hoping for a Nowitzki-Durant showdown, well, Kid Delicious put up 18 shots, but only four of them dropped.) Dallas 100, Oklahoma City 86, despite a five-point Thunder lead at the half.
The Mavs hit an even 50 percent, including 7 of 13 treys. Rick Carlisle played only eight men, but each of them scored at least six points; more important, they held the Thunder to 38 points in the second half while accumulating 57. Dallas also made with the ball movement: Jason Kidd served up nine assists, the Mavs accumulating 20 dimes in all, versus 14 for OKC.
The Thunder did outrebound Dallas, 44-40, but the potential second-chance points didn’t materialize to any great extent. Further, the Zombie Sonics left nine points at the stripe, hitting only 14 of 23, which may jeopardize their status as the NBA’s free-throw leaders. From the floor: a mediocre 42 percent. Jeff Green managed a double-double — 15 points, 11 rebounds — and Russell Westbrook was good for 16 points, but the Mavs had Kevin Durant (12 points) contained all night.
Friday the Pistons come to town. We’ve beaten them once this season; we need to do it again to get back above .500 before this heinous road trip (Rockets, Lakers, Suns) starts up.
