Thunder at Mavericks
THE STORY: The Oklahoma City Thunder followed up a weak bench effort with a strong one, and now returns home tied 1-1 in their Western Conference final matchup with the Dallas Mavericks. James Harden led a 50-point effort from the Thunder reserves in a 106-100 victory in Game 2. With the series shifting to Oklahoma City for Game 3 on Saturday, the focus will be on which team gets more out of its bench players moving forward.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS: Dallas did well to contain Thunder superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, holding them to 42 points - 18 fewer than they racked up in the opener. Yet it was the Harden-led charge from the reserve unit that ultimately did in the Mavericks, who had multiple chances to take a fourth-quarter lead but couldn't execute. Dirk Nowitzki followed up his 48-point performance in Game 1 with 29 points Thursday, hitting 10 of 17 shots from the field and nine of 10 attempts from the line. No other Dallas player scored more than 15 points, and Nowitzki's teammates combined to shoot just 8 for 28 from the floor in the second half.
ABOUT THE THUNDER: Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks took a major gamble in the fourth quarter, playing reserve point guard Eric Maynor ahead of Westbrook. It paid off, but questions remain about how Westbrook - who averaged more than 34 minutes per game during the regular season - will respond to the extended benching. Harden assumed the supporting offensive role in Westbrook's absence, pouring in 10 of his 23 points in the final quarter. That made up for a dismal effort from the rest of the starting lineup, as Thabo Sefolosha, Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka combined to score just 14 points. Maynor added 13 in just 19 minutes.
WHO'S HOT/WHO'S NOT: Durant had to work for his 24 points in Game 2, getting to the free-throw line just three times while missing all five of his 3-point attempts. Shawn Marion was aggressive on the boards - hauling down six offensive rebounds - but shot just 4 of 13 from the field and will need to be better in Game 3.
KEY STATISTIC: 26-6 - The Thunder's record following a loss this season. Oklahoma City has yet to lose consecutive games in the playoffs.
LAST WORD: "You can’t mess that chemistry up. Coach made a good decision." - Durant on Brooks' decision to leave Westbrook out of the game in the fourth quarter.