Mavericks at Thunder
THE STORY: The defending champion Dallas Mavericks are reeling and the Thunder are sprinting out of the gate as the two teams collide in Oklahoma City in Thursday’s nationally televised contest. Dallas has lost its first two games for the first time since suffering four straight defeats to start the 2006-07 campaign. The Mavericks rebounded that season to win a franchise-record 67 games. Dallas hasn’t looked anything like the team that beat Oklahoma City in last season’s Western Conference finals this season. The Mavericks trailed by more than 30 points in both their opening losses – to the Miami Heat on Christmas Day and the Denver Nuggets on Monday. Oklahoma City is 3-0 for the first time in eight seasons when the franchise was located in Seattle. The Thunder notched a road victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday after opening the season with victories against the Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves. Kevin Durant had 32 points against the Grizzlies and has 30 or more in each of the three games.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (0-2): F Lamar Odom is 2-for-16 from the field in his two games with Dallas after being acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers. Odom was ejected from the season-opening loss to Miami and then had just six points on 1-of-10 shooting against Denver. Odom is averaging 5.0 points and is searching for a comfort zone with his teammates. Odom was the league’s Sixth Man of the Year after averaging 14.4 points and 8.7 rebounds last season.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (3-0): PG Russell Westbrook had a forgettable 0-of-13 shooting night and recorded just four points against Memphis. Westbrook got into an argument with some of his teammates during the second quarter and teammates had to separate him and Durant after the latter sternly attempted to calm him down. Despite Oklahoma City’s strong start, Westbrook is averaging just 15.3 points and shooting just 31.4 percent from the field. He averaged 21.9 points last season.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki had a memorable 48-point against Oklahoma City and averaged 32.2 points in the five-game playoff series.
2. Durant averaged 28.0 points in the playoff series, but his regular-season average against the Mavericks is just 20.2 in 13 career games.
3. Dallas has been outrebounded 98-68 in its first two games.