Dirk’s 35 and 11 lift Mavs over Thunder
December 17, 2009
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)—Dirk Nowitzki(notes) had 35 points and 11 rebounds, and the DallasMavericks used a late surge to spoil the debut of Kevin Durant’s(notes) new brightorange sneakers and beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-86 Wednesday night.
Durant broke out Creamsicle orange KD2 sneakers for the first time, and mostof his teammates joined him in wearing the new Nike shoes. But Durant, the NBA’sthird-leading scorer, matched his lowest-scoring total of the season with only12 points on 4-for-18 shooting.
Erick Dampier(notes) swatted away Durant’s layup try amid a 21-5 run that put theMavericks in control in the fourth quarter.
Oklahoma City Thunder's Ke… AP – Dec 16, 9:25 pm EST Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk … AP – Dec 16, 9:24 pm EST
Dallas Mavericks forward Shawn… AP – Dec 16, 9:24 pm EST YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_last_index = 2; YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_lazy_images = [http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20091217/capt.9ad31e5a42e14ff0afc7983402b410f3.mavericks_thunder_basketball_okaa101.jpg?x=180&y=200&xc=1&yc=1&wc=273&hc=303&q=70&sig=f2vIeeFeDwlLUKlqbiIO0w--,http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20091217/capt.ef54db8b94674ab6b2b1c7e4aa4c76b7.mavericks_thunder_basketball_okaa103.jpg?x=180&y=200&xc=1&yc=1&wc=273&hc=303&q=70&sig=zx5c3zEyasOVV_q_AVW_NA--]; YAHOO.util.Event.addListener(window,load,YAHOO.Sports.articleLazyLoadCarousel.init); 1 of 3 Dal-OKC Gallery function prev_photo() { if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index > 0) { goto_photo(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index – 1); } else { goto_photo(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_last_index); }}function next_photo() { if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index 0) { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_prev, prev); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_prev, prev_disabled); } else { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_prev, prev_disabled); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_prev, prev); } if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index < YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_last_index) { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_next, next); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_next, next_disabled); } else { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_next, next_disabled); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_next, next); }*/}function goto_photo(p) { if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos) { for(i = 0; i < YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos.length; i++) { if (i == p) { YAHOO.util.Dom.setStyle(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos[i], display, ); } else { YAHOO.util.Dom.setStyle(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos[i], display, none); } } if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_page) { YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_page.innerHTML =(p + 1); YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index = p; } } update_buttons();}YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_init = function () { YAHOO.util.Event.addListener(article_carousel_prev, click, prev_photo); YAHOO.util.Event.addListener(article_carousel_next, click, next_photo); YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index = 0; YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_page = YAHOO.util.Dom.get(carousel_page); YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos = YAHOO.util.Dom.getElementsByClassName(item, div, leadphoto); if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos) { goto_photo(0); }}YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_init();
Reserve Josh Howard(notes) had 15 points, Shawn Marion(notes) scored 12 and Dampierfinished with 10.
Russell Westbrook(notes) led Oklahoma City with 16 points. Jeff Green(notes) added 15points and 11 rebounds, and rookie James Harden(notes) had 12 points off the bench.
Oklahoma City held Dallas scoreless for the first 4 minutes of the fourthquarter to open a 75-71 lead before the Mavericks made their final push. J.J.Barea’s jumper from the foul line gave Dallas the lead for good at 77-75 with7:04 to play, and Nowitzki extended the lead with jumpers on back-to-backpossessions.
Nowitzki then found Dampier under the basket for a layup and banked in a3-pointer to give Dallas its first double-digit lead at 90-80 with 1:44 left.
Even Durant’s first 3-pointer in the final minute couldn’t ignite a Thundercomeback as the Mavericks pushed their winning streak to five games.
Oklahoma City has lost three in a row for the second time this season andfell back to .500 at 12-12.
Dallas withstood Oklahoma City’s 9-for-11 shooting start and rallied backfrom a 19-10 deficit to tie it at 24 on Jason Terry’s(notes) 3-pointer in the closingseconds of the first quarter. The Thunder kept Dallas at bay until midwaythrough the third quarter, when Nowitzki hit a 13-foot jumper in the lane togive the Mavs a 57-56 edge—their first lead since the opening minutes.
He had another jumper sandwiched between baskets by Howard as the Mavericksscored six in a row to go up 66-60, and the lead reached seven when Nowitzkistole the ball and hit a 3-pointer. But Oklahoma City used a 13-2 charge to goback ahead. Serge Ibaka’s(notes) two-handed jam off an offensive rebound put theThunder up 75-71 with 8:18 to play.
NOTES: Even Ibaka and Etan Thomas(notes), the two Oklahoma City players who wearadidas shoes, picked out orange ones. The Thunder also distributed orange rallytowels to the sellout crowd of 18,203 … Howard continued his comeback fromoffseason left ankle surgery with a season-high 29 minutes for the secondstraight game. “Having him off the bench, it’s a plus for us right now. Hisminutes have been inching up gradually. That’s probably good,” Dallas coachRick Carlisle said. … The Tulsa 66ers, Oklahoma City’s NBA Development Leagueaffiliate, signed former Virginia Tech guard Zabian Dowdell on Wednesday andwaived guard Mitch Johnson.
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