Mavericks at Thunder
THE STORY: It has taken just 47 minutes, 58 1/2 seconds for the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder to recreate the drama of last season's Western Conference finals. Kevin Durant's miracle shot with 1.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter gave the Thunder the win in Game 1, and they'll look to head to Dallas with a 2-0 lead when the teams renew acquaintances Monday night. The Thunder won just once in last year's conference finals.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT, Fox Sports Oklahoma
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS: Dallas reached last year's finals by orchestrating a pair of fourth-quarter comebacks to upend the Thunder. Saturday night, it was the Mavericks on the receiving end of a stunning comeback as they failed to hold on to a late seven-point advantage. Dallas superstar Dirk Nowitzki, who scored 11 points in the final five minutes to keep the Mavericks ahead, was gutted. "It's tough. This is definitely as tough of a loss as you can get," he said. "But if a team can recover it, it's an experienced one and we definitely have a lot of older guys who have been through a lot."
ABOUT THE THUNDER: It wasn't the prettiest winning shot ever hit, but Durant and the Thunder will gladly take it. With the clock winding down and Oklahoma City down one, Durant took the ball to the free-throw line before uncoiling an awkward jumper that bounced high off the front of the rim before deflecting off the backboard and falling straight into the hoop. The shot left teammate James Harden impressed. "It was a great shot," Harden said. "It saved the game for us. I don't think we played well … but he saved us at the end." Durant, the three-time defending NBA scoring champion, finished with 25 points.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Durant, Harden, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka combined to score 94 of the Thunder's 99 points in Game 1. Thabo Sefolosha had the other five.
2. The Mavericks had a final chance to win Game 1 but had no timeouts - forcing them to inbound from their own baseline - and couldn't get a shot off.
3. Jason Terry scored 20 points for Dallas but had zero in the second half.