2010-11 NBA Playoffs / Finals

[PosImpos]

So, after the Mavs were notched 2-2 with the Blazers, who thought they'd go on to sweep the Lakers and then (most likely at this point) defeat the Thunder in 5?  Unbelievable.

[mc34]

Talk about a devastating loss. Sounds crazy but the Thunder actually missed Jeff Green tonight.. they had no one to turn to after Harden went out. That OKC offense is just horrible to watch sometimes

[CelticG1]

Dirk  is insane. I have gained so much respect for him during these playoffs.

They tried to ice him on those free throws at the end with the ball boys mopping up a spill....Then after he hit it he goes over to the ref and says "that's the old trick in the book 'opps I spilled some water'"

They did that to Dirk? Man I just love him right now in these playoffs.
No one thought they would be where they are right now and in fact were laughed at in the beginning of the season. They were put under the rock and thought of to be the team to go out in the 1st definitely 2nd round and now they could possibly win this year.

That's what he said, I don't know if they did or if it was just wet from the previous play but it was funny to here his interaction with the ref.

I was one of the people that thought Dallas didn't have a prayer. Not sure if I underrated the impact of Chandler and their defense or Dirk himself.

I've never been a fan of Dirk and have never been as impressed with him as some are but man there isn't much I can say about him now.

I used to think him and Pierce had pretty similar careers while giving Pierce the edge overall but the way Dirk has been playing lately it's hard to argue for Pierce.

Sometimes I do wish that our team would focus on getting the ball to Pierce and letting him do work like they do with Dirk. I know are team isn't about that necessarily but Pierce can still carry our team- and I wish we'd let him more.

[CelticG1]

So, after the Mavs were notched 2-2 with the Blazers, who thought they'd go on to sweep the Lakers and then (most likely at this point) defeat the Thunder in 5?  Unbelievable.

Yeah I was thinking this too. Is it more that the Blazers are extremely underrated or that the Mavs are just firing on all cylinders?

[GreenFaith1819]

What a comeback by DAL.

This team is hungry.

[Who]

Wow, I can't believe Dallas came back to win that one.

They had been thoroughly beaten until Dirk Nowitzki came alive late in the fourth and scored 11 of the last 13 points in the game for Dallas over the final 3 minutes. And they held OKC to only one basket. Wow, incredible play from Dirk to force the overtime.

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Got to give a big hand to Shawn Marion too. Made a bunch of big defensive plays down the stretch and created 3-4 turnovers over the final few minutes of the fourth + overtime. Great job by Marion.

I thought Jason Kidd was great in the overtime period too. Got a couple of rebounds. Fought hard on 50-50 balls, including one which OKC should have gotten but Kidd kept it alive and OKC ended up knocking it out of bounds. Then he had the steal from Durant. Excellent. And of course the big three pointer to put Dallas ahead for good in the final minute.

Dogged play from Kidd and Marion.

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I thought Oklahoma were rubbish at the end of the game.

Late in the fourth quarter, they were more concerned about running down the clock then generating quality shot attempts which resulted in a bunch of low percentage shots + turnovers. Which gave Dallas an opening.

Then in overtime, they were so much directionless play. Their only two baskets came from Thabo Sefolosha and Serge Ibaka. Russell Westbrook + Kevin Durant took only two shots in the first 4+ minutes of overtime. A 27 foot heave from Durant and a triple against the shot clock from Westbrook. That's it.

That is all their either of their top two scorers (Westbrook / Durant) could muster in the overtime. The only two shots they got where lousy three pointers. Very little going to the rim. Durant trying to create off the dribble from the three point line. No quality shots.

Their offense was train wreck. Looked like they had no clue about what they wanted to try to do.

Very poor play offensively from the Thunder down the stretch.

[Who]

Talk about a devastating loss. Sounds crazy but the Thunder actually missed Jeff Green tonight.. they had no one to turn to after Harden went out. That OKC offense is just horrible to watch sometimes

Yeah, that 6th foul on Harden was a killer blow for Oklahoma.

That was when things began to fall apart for them.

[radiohead]

Not to take anything away from Jason Kidd's huge three, but didn't he slightly move his pivot foot as he faked off his defender? It looked like a clear travel during the replay. I was just surprised why no one from the broadcast panel noticed that. On a different note, it seems like the Perk trade is haunting OKC as well. Jeff Green could have been an extra offensive option in this series. Seems like they traded for Perk in anticipation of a match up with the Lakers. Perk just isn't getting it done against Dallas' bigs.

[CelticsGuy34]

Perkins didnt even play in the 4th

got benched in favor of collison lol

please i hope this puts to rest who won the trade

danny ainge is a great GM

[Who]

Doesn't a huge amount of blame for loss fall on Scott Brooks management? How was Harden in the game with 5 fouls with so much time left? I don't know when exactly he got his 5th foul but I don't know how that 4th quarter is managed so poorly for such an important player

15 seconds earlier -- when Harden picked up his 5th foul.

He picked up his fourth earlier in the quarter. The 8 minute mark.

[CelticG1]

Not to take anything away from Jason Kidd's huge three, but didn't he slightly move his pivot foot as he faked off his defender? It looked like a clear travel during the replay. I was just surprised why no one from the broadcast panel noticed that. On a different note, it seems like the Perk trade is haunting OKC as well. Jeff Green could have been an extra offensive option in this series. Seems like they traded for Perk in anticipation of a match up with the Lakers. Perk just isn't getting it done against Dallas' bigs.

Yeah his foot may have shuffled but it was literally probably an inch or 2. I know technically that it probably a travel but it's like pivoting on a one foot in all different directions, you are bound to "travel" an inch or 2 doing that as well.

I thought the broadcasters might have mentioned it to but at the same time it was so minimal.

[CelticG1]

Doesn't a huge amount of blame for loss fall on Scott Brooks management? How was Harden in the game with 5 fouls with so much time left? I don't know when exactly he got his 5th foul but I don't know how that 4th quarter is managed so poorly for such an important player

15 seconds earlier -- when Harden picked up his 5th foul.

He picked up his fourth earlier in the quarter. The 8 minute mark.

I guess that is just terrible timing. The blame go to Harden then? I mean how do you let that happen?

[CelticSooner]

Thunder need a big that can score and probably another shooter. Perk trade definitely hurt them in this series. Hindsight is 20/20 and they figured LA was in their future.

[Who]

Fun box score ...

Jason Kidd's line -- 17 points on 5-9 shooting including 3-6 from behind the arc and 4-4 from the FT line + 7 assists + 5 rebounds + 4 steals.

Shawn Marion with 4 steals and 1 block. Defensive disruptor.

Jason Terry also finished with 4 steals. Third Mavs player with that many steals. Tyson Chandler had another 2. Terry also finished with 20 points but needed 19 shot attempts + 4 FTs to get them. Five rebounds in 42 minutes for Terry.

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Ouch, Kevin Durant had 9 turnovers.

Durant finished with 29 points on 9-22 shooting and 9-10 from the FT line. A huge 15 rebounds too. The rebounds don't negate the turnovers though, just too many of them.

Serge Ibaka finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks. 12 and 7 from Collison.

Perkins had no points, no rebounds and no assists in the 8 second half minutes he played. Finished with 6, 3 and 2 in 25 minutes.

Westbrook had 19, 8 and 8 but also had 6 turnovers and took 22 shots + 8 FTs (26 possessions) to get 19 points. Including his turnovers, Westbrook only scored 0.59 points per possession. Yikes!

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55 rebounds to 33 in Oklahoma's favour

54 points in the paint to 36 in Oklahoma's favour

19 fastbreak points to 6 in Oklahoma's favour

26 turnovers to 13 in Dallas' favour leading to a 26-17 edge in points of turnovers for the Mavs.

[Who]

Doesn't a huge amount of blame for loss fall on Scott Brooks management? How was Harden in the game with 5 fouls with so much time left? I don't know when exactly he got his 5th foul but I don't know how that 4th quarter is managed so poorly for such an important player

15 seconds earlier -- when Harden picked up his 5th foul.

He picked up his fourth earlier in the quarter. The 8 minute mark.

I guess that is just terrible timing. The blame go to Harden then? I mean how do you let that happen?

Yeah, I think so.

Harden shouldn't have put himself in a position to pick up a loose ball foul on an offensive board when he was playing with 5 fouls. Should have played smarter. Stayed on the floor where his team needed him.

Edit: Yeah, I just re-watched the tape. Very bad foul. Dirk had position and got the rebound. Harden came from the weakside, had very little chance of the ball, jumped towards it and stuck his arm in there anyway, even after Dirk corralled it, trying to knock it loose and raked through Dirk's arms in the process. Terrible foul.