5/19/11

Thunder 106 Mavericks 100
Series tied 1-1

After a minor altercation with his coach at the end of the third quarter that had Russell Westbrook whining and complaining on the bench, coach Scotty Brooks made maybe his best coaching decision to date. Brooks sat all his starters except for his superstar Kevin Durant for the entire fourth quarter. The move paid off as the Thunder played a lot more patient, smarter, and composed with their self proclaimed “Bench Mob” in the game. James Harden was the star off the bench scoring 23 points and hitting several tough jumpers late in the game. Eric Maynor did what Russell Westbrook has struggled to do in fourth quarters during the playoffs, he played with composure and passed the ball. Maynor also added 13 points. Kevin Durant was the Thunder’s high scorer with 24 points. Durant also had a huge slam over Brendan Haywood. Dirk Nowitzki scored 29 points for the Mavs.

The series now moves to Oklahoma City for games 3 and 4, tied at a game a piece.