Kevin Durant finds touch again to lead Thunder to rout of Mavericks
DALLAS — Kevin Durant has a new-found empathy for boxers.
The four-time NBA scoring champion shot 7-of-33 in a Game 2 loss three days ago. And between then and Thursday night’s 131-102 dismantling of the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3, in which Durant led the Oklahoma City Thunder with 34 points on 11-of-25 shooting and seven rebounds, he was stewing.
"Now I know how fighters feel when they lose the fight and they know the rematch is coming, but it’s a year later," Durant said. "That’s how it felt for me. I was just so anxious to go out there and try to help my team win and give them a better effort on both ends.
"I was able to make shots. They encouraged me all night, coaches encouraged me all night, and I was there to make some. I missed some tonight. I still feel like I should have made a lot. I still feel like I could shoot way better than I did tonight."
It was still better than missing 26 shots, something he’s never done in his career. He didn’t change anything about his approach though.
He set the tone early, scoring nine points in the first quarter.
"When I come out and play well, I don’t throw a party for myself afterwards," Durant said. "If I play terrible, I’m not going to go out and change anything up. I’m not going to feel sorry for myself. I’m going to go out there and do the same thing I’ve been doing."
Russell Westbrook also struggled in Game 2, scoring 19 points on 8-of-22 shooting. But he had 26 points and 15 assists in Game 3. There was a point in the third quarter when Dallas had come within 10 thanks to six straight points from Dirk Nowitzki. That’s when Westbrook turned on the jets and hit back-to-back 3s that sandwiched an Enes Kanter layup that he assisted. Within a minute, the Thunder were up by 16.
Thunder coach Billy Donovan explained that they did "clean up some things" and part of that game plan was running more isolation plays for Westbrook and Durant.
It worked, and the Thunder used their athleticism and depth to force the Mavs to play at a faster pace — Nowitzki lamented afterwards that he longed for a slower night — and make shots. Oklahoma City shot 57.7% from the floor and 55.6% from three-point range. Dallas, by comparison, shot 47.4% and 26.1%, respectively. The Thunder also held a 42-30 rebounding edge.
"It’s just read and react," Westbrook said. "We watch film and see different ways we can use our strength to our advantage."
In their two wins over the Mavs this series, the Thunder have won by a combined 67 points. Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle shrugged as he talked about his opponent’s talent as if there simply isn’t anything that can be done as far as containment.
"The question is," Carlisle said, "did we make it as hard on him as we could? I think when we look back at this game, we’re going to have some regrets with some of the periods where we didn’t compete the way we needed to compete."
But where would that come from? Even though he said he’s feeling fine, Nowitzki, who had 16 points, is nursing a bruised bone in his knee and hobbles all over the court. And there are four other Mavericks either playing through injuries or out because of them.
"We need to play with more grit," Carlisle said. "I think that’s the answer."
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