After yet another physical game that ultimately resulted in a double-digit win for OKC, the Thunder now holds a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Mavericks with a 119-108 win in Game 4.
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One person who is not afraid to speak his mind on Durant is Mavericks rookie center Salah Mejri. A member of the Thunder’s security and official Ken Mauer had to step in between Mejri and Westbrook as they exchanged words.
The first three games of the first-round series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks made a few things very clear – that the Thunder have an overwhelming advantage that the Mavericks are only likely to overcome under rare circumstances that involve Kevin Durant missing 26 shots and game-winning tip-ins getting put up just a little bit late.
According to Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Durant texted Anderson immediately after the game.
After Rockets head coach J.B. Bickerstaff publicly proclaimed that his team would play nastier in Game 3, the Rockets players certainly did not make their coach out to be a liar last night. The Thunder are allowing 25 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 50.7 rebounds per game. I’m not trying to hurt anybody; that’s not my game.
“It was a flagrant, even though I wasn’t trying to intentionally foul him”, Durant said, per Royce Young of ESPN.com.
“I don’t believe they’re trying to hurt us, and we’re not trying to hurt them”, Durant said, also emphasizing that he wasn’t trying to hurt Justin Anderson when he swung his arm across the Dallas guard’s head.
And now the series shifts back to Oklahoma City.
With his Dallas Mavericks down 2-1 in the series, with a minus-66 point differential, Rick Carlisle is pulling out all the stops.
The Thunder lead the series 3-1. Raymond Felton and Wesley Matthews each scored 19 points.
But if the Mavs plan on becoming the 10 team to accomplish this maddening feat, they’re going to have to rebound better than they did Saturday, when they lost that battle, 42-33. There’s some stuff, we’re going to do some talking, we’re going to do some shoving here and there because that’s how competitive both teams are.
Game 5, which is win-or-go-home for Dallas, will be on Monday night at 8 pm ET on TNT.
Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum (3) leads a fast break against the Los Angeles Clippers during the second half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Saturday, April 23, 2016, in Portland, Ore. If a player reaches four points, he receives an automatic one-game suspension.
Dirk Nowitzki, himself clocked in the face by Serge Ibaka, didn’t seem to mind most of the over the top physical play. For the first time this postseason, they played like the team that won 56 games this season and looked like a team that is finally ready to get out of the first round after so many years of disappointment.
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Williams aggravated what is being called a left abdominal strain while chasing a loose ball and running into the scorer’s table just 40 seconds into the game.
