Wednesday, May 18th, 2011 at 8:50 am  |  66 responses

Post Up: Relax and Take Notes

Dirk Nowitzki puts on a clinic as Mavs take Game 1.

Dallas 121, Oklahoma City 112

Apparently, rest does a body good. The Dallas Mavericks, who have been waiting on their Western Conference Finals opponent since dispatching the Lakers, showed no signs of rust as they protected their home court with a 121-112 Game 1 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder last night.

Not surprisingly, Dirk Nowitzki led the way with another otherworldly playoff performance: 48 points on 12-15 from the field and an NBA playoff-record 24 straight free throws. No one could stop the German. Not Serge Ibaka, not Kendrick Perkins, not Thabo Sefolosha. Not anyone. Dirk was on fire and the Thunder had no answer.

Except for Kevin Durant. Lost in the praise of the Nowitzki show is that fact that Durant went off for 40 points and single-handedly kept OKC within striking distance. But every time the Thunder made a run, the Mavs had a counter. The key swing for Dallas was the 13-0 run late in the second quarter that gave them the lead for good. Jason Terry and JJ Barea added 24 points and 21 points, respectively, and kept OKC’s defense honest when it tried to double and triple team Dirk.

Russell Westbrook, who had a triple-double in the clincher against Memphis, was held to 20 points on a woeful 3-15 from the field with three assists and three rebounds. If OKC wants to bounce back in Game 2, they’ll need Westbrook to either shoot better or distribute the ball more efficiently.

The Mavs are on a seven-game winning streak in these Playoffs since their fourth-quarter collapse against Portland in Game 4, and it doesn’t look like they plan on slowing down. Coach Scotty Brooks will have to review game tape and shake his magic eight ball to learn how in the world he can contain Dirk Nowitzki moving forward because if the smooth-shooting 7-footer continues to have games like this, Dallas will win this series. —Maurice Bobb / @ReeseReport

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  • http://www.bulls.com Rigo Gonzalez

    I was kinda dissapointed with Black on Both Sides, and all of Mos Def’s albums really.
    He’s such a GREAT MC, but on every album he only seems to have like two or three memorable songs. The producers that work on his albums rarely make beats that do him justice.
    Reflection Eternal with Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek is one I used to bump a lot in high school.
    Also Common’s “One Day It’ll All Make Sense” which was mostly produced by No ID, who mentored Kanye West in producing.

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    Yeah I don’t have the type of music knowledge where I even know who produces or masterprpduces anything. I got on that mos def from that speed law song from that album, dropped 21 in the first quarter of a game the day I heard that song. As a pitcher in baseball I am overly superstitious, so I listened to that album on every gameday for the rest of my hs life

  • http://www.bulls.com Rigo Gonzalez

    nbk getting his Juanny Wags on in high school…

  • http://www.bulls.com Rigo Gonzalez
  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    That actually turned out to be the best highest scoring game of my hs career. Had 28 lol only had 7 after the first quarter. But 2 ft’s to ice it so that was hella nice, actually the highlight of the game to me.

  • ChristianBulleN

    The refs made this game a bore.. even with the tremendous game from Dirk it was tough to get in to with all of those b.s calls. Bad for both teams, it’s the playoffs let em’ play..

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Dirk Nowitzki with the most efficient 48 points ever?

  • Ronald

    Did some idiot just say that OKC should go zone against Dallas? Really? You have one of the deadliest high-post players to ever play the game in Dirk coupled with decent shooters on the wing and you want to go zone? Are you serious?

  • http://slamonline.com everything

    KD should guard Dirk for longer stretches. i think 2 of Dirk’s 3 misses were caused by KD. i honestly believe KD can bother Dirk’s shot.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    ^ He’s definitely quick and long enough to keep up with Dirk. The only thing is that Dirk probably outweighs him by 20-30 pounds. Maybe more (I don’t know how much they weigh). Dirk would abuse him on the block–but then again, he’d abuse any defender on the block.

  • http://www.fiba.com Darksaber

    Some people here need to dial down the insults just cause someone offers a different opinion on a topic.
    This site is getting pretty annoying reg. that. If i wanted immature, insulting comments on the net, i’d spend 2 mins. on youtube comment threads.
    Man.

  • http://www.fiba.com Darksaber

    Teddy, isn’t his development great? A few seasons ago putting “abusing any defender on the low block” and “Dirk” in a sentence would cause a ruckus.
    Bal…ler!

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Yeah man, it’s crazy how good he’s become lol. He’s a match-up nightmare right now. And like I said, the most efficient 48 points ever in a game.
    Durant played a great game too though.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Westbrook, however, does not own the title of least efficient 20 points ever. That one belongs to Corey Maggette, who scored 18 points (not quite 20, but close enough) on 3 for 21 (!) shooting in the regular season a few seasons ago.

  • Morgan

    @ Teddy, but Maggette was the kind of player that charges at the hoop regardless of if he’s getting the call or if his shots are falling – if the refs aren’t bailing him out his pct and points are terrible.
    Totally agree with you on Dirk, between him and the Mavs depth this team should get a ring.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    ^ Agreed, they deserve it. Miami and Chicago and Oklahoma are still young, anyways.

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