With five minutes remaining in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, the Oklahoma City Thunder appeared to have the game in the bag. They were ahead by 15 points and a series tied at 2-2 appeared to be an inevitability. Then, James Harden fouled out and Dirk Nowitzki went crazy. The combination of those two occurrences lead to an unbelievable collapse, and as a result, the Dallas Mavericks have a 3-1 series lead after winning by a final score of 112-105 in overtime.
Mavericks Vs. Thunder Final Score, Game 4: Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Complete Overtime Comeback Victory
Nowitzki turned in one of the greatest performances in playoff history, scoring 40 points with 14 of those points coming in the final five minutes of regulation. The shots that he made were absolutely unbelievable off-balance efforts, and as a result, ‘Loud City’ was silenced.
The game changed when Harden fouled out, at which point, Oklahoma City's offense completely dried up. Harden had seven assists on the night, and with him in the lineup, the Thunder passed brilliantly, worked together as a team, and played generally fluid and dynamic offense. When Harden went down, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook attempted to create shots for themselves instead of each other and their offense struggled considerably.
At the end of the game, the Thunder looked like an absolutely deflated team who had already lost the series. Prior to this game, they were 5-0 following losses, but they have now lost two straight on their home court to the Mavericks. They aren’t completely dead yet, but based on tonight’s happenings, an Oklahoma City comeback in this series would be absolutely stunning.
Be sure to check out our Mavericks vs. Thunder hub for full series coverage. For more on the Thunder, visit Welcome To Loud City. For more on the Mavericks, visit Mavs Moneyball and SB Nation Dallas.
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