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Nowitzki's 48 leads Mavs past Thunder

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-19 07:59

Dallas Mavericks power forward Dirk Nowitzki (left) scores past Oklahoma City Thunder power forward Serge Ibaka in the first half of Game 1 of their NBA Western Conference finals playoff in Dallas, Texas, on Tuesday. The Mavericks won 121-112. Mike Stone / Reuters

DALLAS, Texas - Serge Ibaka stood right up to Dirk Nowitzki, stretching his 7-foot-4 wingspan to make the view of the basket as tough as possible.

And it hardly mattered.

Wherever he went, whoever he was up against, Nowitzki either nailed a shot or made his way to the foul line. He hit 10 of his first 11 shots from the field and an NBA playoff-record 24 straight free throws on the way to 48 points, leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 121-112 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday night.

"I thought Dirk was pretty good tonight," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said, laughing. "I thought we defended him as close as we can - obviously, too close."

Nowitzki finished 12 of 15 from the field and a perfect 24 of 24 at the line. It was the most points by anyone this postseason and two shy of his most in a playoff game. He credited some late-night shooting sessions he put in during Dallas' nine-day wait for this series, and the confidence boost of hitting his first few shots.

"I was really looking to shoot early and was able to get my rhythm after the first couple of shots," said Nowitzki, who also had six rebounds, four assists and four blocks.

"I kept attacking and my teammates kept feeding me and feeding me and I was able to take advantage over some smaller players."

Jason Terry scored 24 points and J.J. Barea added 21 as the Mavericks picked up where they left off in a sweep of the Lakers nine days before. They broke open a tight game with a 13-0 run late in the second quarter and never trailed again, stretching their franchise-record postseason winning streak to seven games.

Game 2 is on Thursday night in Dallas, where the Mavs are 6-0 this postseason.

The Thunder - fresh off a seven-game series against Memphis that included a total of four overtimes - led by nine points early in the second quarter, then went 6:28 between baskets. They missed 10 shots during that drought and were down by 11 when it ended. They eventually trailed by 16 before clawing within five points with 3:42 left, and six with 48.5 seconds to play.

"I thought we had a chance," Brooks said.

Six Thunder players had the misfortune of trying to guard Nowitzki, and the big German either shot over them or put them in foul trouble. He made 13 free throws in the third quarter alone.

On one of those plays, when Ibaka held up his long arms, Nowitzki went to his one-legged, step-back jumper and saw the ball go off the rim, against the backboard, off the rim again and then drop through the net. He also got to the line twice by way of defensive three-second calls.

"We can't get discouraged," said Oklahoma City star Kevin Durant, who finished with 40 points but was whistled for two fouls against Nowitzki in a 5-second span during the third quarter. "He's going to make shots. He's going to make off-balance shots with a hand in his face."

Nowitzki just wouldn't be denied.

On the series when he missed for the first time, a teammate got the ball back to him, and he found Tyson Chandler for a layup. On the few times a second defender ran at him, he passed to the teammate left open; that's what set up Jason Kidd for his only basket, a 3-pointer. And in the final minute, Nowitzki passed to Terry in the corner for a 3-pointer that sealed the victory.

Associated Press

(China Daily 05/19/2011 page24)