Thunder at Mavericks
THE STORY: The Dallas Mavericks have squandered two chances to steal home-court advantage – and potentially two wins – from the Oklahoma City Thunder. That puts the reigning NBA champions in a must-win position to avoid moving to the brink of elimination as the first-round series shifts to Dallas for Game 3 on Thursday night. "Game 3 is Game 7," Mavericks guard Jason Terry said of his team's precarious position. Dallas has led inside the final minute in each game only to come up empty.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT, KTXA
ABOUT THE THUNDER: Oklahoma City has to feel fortunate to hold a 2-0 series lead despite the shooting woes of Kevin Durant, the league’s three-time scoring champion. Durant has gone just 15 of 44 in the two games, but he buried the game-winning jumper in Game 1 and hit the go-ahead free throws in Game 2. The Thunder got unexpected offensive contributions from starting center Kendrick Perkins and backup point guard Derek Fisher, who scored 13 and 11 points, respectively, in Game 2 after both were held off the scoresheet in the series opener. It was the highest offensive output for Perkins since March 25.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS: Dallas beat the Thunder in five games last season, helped by a pair of fourth-quarter comebacks, but it was unable to close the deal in Oklahoma City. The Mavericks have been relying heavily on their outside shooting, launching 45 3-point attempts in the first two games and converting only five of 23 attempts in Game 2. Point guard Jason Kidd has hoisted up a team-high 12 in the series, making just three, and is 4 of 18 overall from the floor. Dirk Nowitzki may need to conjure up his magic of last season, when he burned the Thunder for a pair of 40-point outings.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Oklahoma City has won five of six meetings with the Mavericks this season. The margin of victory has been four points or fewer in four of the victories.
2. Kidd reached a postseason milestone with 1,000 points, 1,000 assists and 1,000 rebounds. Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Scottie Pippen are the only others to accomplish the feat.
3. Thunder PG Russell Westbrook is averaging 28.5 points on 52.3 percent shooting in the series.