Thunder 109, Mavericks 106
DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks nearly pulled off a remarkable comeback that threatened a fifth consecutive home game going to overtime, but the Oklahoma City Thunder survived a final threat and hung on to a 109-106 victory Friday at American Airlines Center.
Dallas trailed by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter, but whittled it all the way down to 107-106 after third-string center Salah Mejri stuffed Thunder forward Kevin Durant at the rim and the Mavs guard Deron Williams followed with a 3-pointer that sent the sellout crowd into a tizzy.
Oklahoma City All-Star forward Kevin Durant sank a free-throw jumper with 54.8 seconds left to make it a three-point lead. From there, Mavs guard Wesley Matthews missed a 3-pointer, but at the other end, Thunder forward Serge Ibaka was called for a moving screen.
With 17 seconds and a chance to add to their NBA-record home overtime streak, Williams had his 3-pointer tipped by Ibaka, forward Dirk Nowitzki couldn't connect on a 3-pointer and a third attempt by forward Chandler Parsons from the corner also failed to drop.
Six Oklahoma City players scored in double figures, led by Durant's 24 points. A dominating 37-18 third quarter after falling behind by eight at halftime ultimately was the difference in the game.
Dallas, which leads the league in wins after trailing by 10 points or more, nearly did it again, outscoring the Thunder 32-24 in the final quarter.
Durant was only 2-of-8 from beyond the arc, but the two he hit were key in opening up some separation once the Thunder grabbed the lead.
Thunder guard Russell Westbrook finished with 16 points, seven assists and rebounds. Ibaka had 14 points, and three bench players added to the double-digit scoring with backup center Enes Kanter getting 16, guard Dion Waiters scoring 13 and Kyle Singler adding 10.
Parsons put together a second consecutive strong game, finishing with a game-high 26 points and logging 37 minutes. Williams had 22 points and Nowitzki finished with 14.
A first half marked by big momentum swings -- Dallas led by 11 early and the Thunder responded with a 19-2 spurt -- was closed by the Mavs reeling off a 10-2 run in the final 3:51 for 56-48 halftime advantage.
The Mavs shot better than 50 percent in the opening half against a defense that ranked No. 2 in defensive efficiency in the Western Conference since Jan. 1. Dallas benefitted from going 8-of-20 from beyond the arc, netting a 21-point advantage over the Thunder, who were just 1-of-12 from beyond the arc in the opening 24 minutes.
NOTES: Mavericks F Dirk Nowitzki returned to the starting lineup after missing one game because of swelling in his right knee. ... G Raymond Felton returned the rotation after missing one game with a swollen left eye. ... Thunder C Steven Adams was a late scratch with an elbow strain suffered in pregame warmups. Nick Collison took his spot in the starting lineup. ... Coach Rick Carlisle, who is head of the NBA coaches association, was highly critical of the Cleveland Cavaliers for firing coach David Blatt on Friday, saying, "I'm embarrassed for our league that something like this could happen." ... No Mavs player was selected to be a Western Conference All-Star starter when voting results for both conferences were announced Thursday. But in a surprise, thanks to several Internet campaigns to generate fan votes, C Zaza Pachulia came less than 15,000 votes from nabbing a starting spot. Paculia, averaging a double-double of 10.5 points and 10.8 rebounds, has never made an All-Star team. ... Dallas is coming off an NBA-record fourth consecutive overtime game at home. ... Thunder stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were both voted to the Western Conference All-Star team as starters. It's the first time in their eight seasons together that both were selected as starters. ... Oklahoma City started a four-game road trip on Friday at Dallas, the lone team of the four with a winning record.