Russell Westbrook, Thunder Take Down Mavericks In Thriller

The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Dallas Mavericks 92-91 tonight in a game that came down to the final shot.

The Mavericks were well on their way to beating OKC for the second time this season. Unfortunately, Russell Westbrook was just too much to handle down the stretch.

The Dallas Mavericks went into battle without point guard Seth Curry (sore shoulder). In his stead, recently demoted Yogi Ferrell got the start.

It was clear in the first quarter that the Mavs aimed to limit everyone not named Westbrook. That defensive scheme paid off as the Mavs were able to stay relatively close all quarter. Westbrook was able to rack up 11 points, four assists and two rebounds while the next highest scorer for OKC was Taj Gibson with seven.

The Mavs outscored OKC 12-4 in the final three minutes of the quarter for a 26-25 lead. Nerlens Noel led Dallas with eight points.

The Thunder were barely able to add to their point total in the second quarter. Led by Noel and Salah Mejri, Dallas put the clamps on OKC, Westbrook included this time. OKC only mustered 10 points all quarter thanks to strong interior defense by the Dallas big men.

Because of this, Dallas was able to blow the game open and take a commanding 50-35 lead into halftime.

The beginning of the second half served as a reminder that nothing comes easy for Dallas. The Thunder ran off 11 straight points to start the 3rd quarter and quickly found themselves within one at 56-55.

Dallas responded in a huge way, making an 8-0 run of their own that ended with 2:57 left in the quarter. They would keep that momentum and head into the final quarter with a strong 69-57 lead.

The closing quarter seemed to be much of the same, Dallas keeping enough distance. Unfortunately for Dallas, Westbrook had other plans. Between poor shooting and defensive breakdowns, OKC scraped their way back into the game.

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Westbrook was able to complete his league-leading 37th triple-double with his 10th assist at the 6:12 mark. This was his first one against Dallas this season. Perhaps this was the jolt OKC was waiting for.

The Thunder went on to score 14 unanswered points to close out the game, capped by a Westbrook jumper over Wesley Matthews. That jumper was made possible by an overturned out-of-bounds call in favor of OKC. Such a bitter loss for the Mavs and their fans.

Westbrook led all scorers with 37 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. Dallas had six players in double figures, led by Matthews and Noel with 15 a piece. Noel would also grab eight rebounds, four steals and two blocks in a losing effort.

Next: 1-on-1 With Nerlens Noel on Kentucky Basketball

Dallas will attempt to rebound from this tough loss when they visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday at 8:00 PM ET.