04/18/24
May 24, 2011
Epic Mavs Comeback Shocks Thunder: Trailing by 15 points with four minutes left, the Dallas Mavericks won 112-105 over the Oklahoma City Thunder to take a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals;
posted by rcade to basketball at 12:13 AM - 18 comments
Dirk. Unbelievable.
Visions of Sugar Ray in the 2nd half .. wait until your opponent is tired and move in for the kill. (Ignore the fact the opponent is 10 years younger than you are).
OKC has loads of young talent but needs a floor general - Westbrook is a tremendous athlete but needs time to learn the game. Poor coaching as well .. at home, tied game and they don't force ball penetration with 6 seconds left?
posted by cixelsyd at 12:48 AM on May 24, 2011
Overtime - timeout - Thunder bench. Complete shell shock. I don't remember what they were down at the time, but not that much and plenty of time left. But you could tell they were out and just waiting for the game to be over.
posted by graymatters at 01:37 AM on May 24, 2011
Dammit. I changed the channel with five minutes left in the game because I thought the game was over.
I almost did too.
I was just about to watch Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive Ins & Dives with 5:35 remaining but was thinking, "Anything can happen" and sure enough, Dirk happened.
He made this one incredible jump shot with his body contorted and there was no way that I was switching the channel after that even though the Mavs were still down. Dirk won that game in the 4th period and in overtime, the Mavs were simply the better team. I can only say, Wow! What a game!
posted by BornIcon at 08:19 AM on May 24, 2011
Westbrook needs to stop jacking up ill-advised 25 foot jumpers and either try to get to the basket (and free throw line) or get the ball to Durant. There were several possessions where OKC needed a bucket to stop the bleeding/comeback and Westbrook was just killing them with misses. Westbrook was only a 44% shooter this year, and you'd have to think his percentage is much higher if he is able to drive to the basket (and potentially get to the free throw line, where he was an 84% shooter) rather than settling for mid-range or long-range jumpers.
posted by holden at 10:49 AM on May 24, 2011
Westbrook needs to stop
There were a few possessions in the 4th where Westbrook drove and occupied more than 1 defender .. good .. but he never even looked for a wide open Durant .. bad. Playing point is all about forcing the defence to commit to free up good shots - I assume he's watching a lot of tape of Jason Kidd, it's just not sinking in.
Look, if the only time Dirk saw the ball was via a handoff 10 feet beyond the 3 point line, he'd be much less effective than he is. Dallas gets Dirk the ball where he can be effective a good percentage of the time. Durant's frustration is warranted.
posted by cixelsyd at 11:30 AM on May 24, 2011
but he never even looked for a wide open Durant .. bad.
Maybe he was afraid that Durant would turn it over. 9 on the game. Westbrook is catching a lot of heat that I think deserves to be spread around a bit more. Though, I too wince every time he pulls up from just inside the three point line.
posted by tron7 at 12:46 PM on May 24, 2011
I think the Mav's are proving to be a better team. Playoff experience and the lack of killer instinct appears to be the difference between these teams. I as watch these OKC Dallas games I can only think that the Mavs would be a much better chance to beat the Heat if Chicago can't.
posted by Atheist at 01:18 PM on May 24, 2011
Dirk. Unbelievable.
He was possessed. He would throw up a shot off-balance and it would swoosh into the net perfectly. He was a one-man wrecking crew the last couple minutes of regulation. I have never seen him play like that before.
posted by bperk at 02:05 PM on May 24, 2011
Whenever I would read or hear someone compare Kobes playoff performances to Michael Jordans, I would roll my eyes. Cant remember which announcer said it last night, but they compared Dirks performance in these playoffs to the performances Jordan used to have. Didnt roll my eyes. Never felt one way or the other about Dirk, but I think Im a fan. Guy is amazing right now.
posted by forrestv at 03:15 PM on May 24, 2011
Dirk. Unbelievable.
He was possessed. He was a one-man wrecking crew the last couple minutes of regulation. I have never seen him play like that before.
It all started back on May 11, when rcade called him a German stiff.
I'm hoping that rcade will refer to Luol Deng as a Sudanese stiff before it's too late.
posted by beaverboard at 05:15 PM on May 24, 2011
Yay. I root against the Thunder at every opportunity. I wish them ill fortune.
That is all.
posted by THX-1138 at 05:21 PM on May 24, 2011
Mavs in five. The Thunder don't recover from this loss, the way they lost this game.
posted by NerfballPro at 08:40 PM on May 24, 2011
That is a bold prediction Nerfball.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 09:26 PM on May 24, 2011
It all started back on May 11, when rcade called him a German stiff.
Just for the record: I called him a German stiff to explain how wrong I was. It was a tale of personal redemption. I don't want to be Breitbarted.
It's great to hear Nowitzki being mentioned as one of the greats. I think he needs a ring to cement his place among them, but the way he's improved his game as a pro is incredible.
I still think the Thunder could come back in the series, though. When they get rolling, the Mavs can't stop them.
posted by rcade at 10:08 AM on May 25, 2011
Apologies, rcade. I totally understood the meaning of your Nowitzki reference of the 11th and didn't make that clear in my post. Never an intention to put you in a disadvantageous position or suggest that you are anything but a committed Dirkophile.
posted by beaverboard at 11:33 AM on May 25, 2011
I figured you knew, but as a Mavs fan I had to make sure. I'm getting a little weepy just typing the name Nowitzki. I'm thinking about retroactively changing the names of my sons to Dirk.
posted by rcade at 11:42 AM on May 25, 2011
OKC needs a true Point Guard, or a veteran to teach Westbrook how to be one, He just doesn't get it yet.
posted by bo_fan at 12:40 PM on May 25, 2011
Dammit. I changed the channel with five minutes left in the game because I thought the game was over. I change it back and the Mavs are down two points. Then they tie it. Amazing. Needless to say, I watched the rest of the game.