The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks by 38 points in Game 1, so their shaky crunch-time play wasn't put to the test. But in Game 2, the Thunder's issues in the clutch were on full display, and it resulted in a stunning 85-84 loss after Steven Adams' tip-in at the buzzer was ruled too late.
The Thunder fell apart late against the Mavericks, just like they always do
The Thunder have been terrible in the clutch all season. Not surprisingly, it came back to bite them again in a Game 2 loss to the undermanned Mavericks.
J Pat Carter/Getty Images
In retrospect, we shouldn't be surprised. The Thunder led by three points heading into the fourth quarter, making this the 15th time this season they've lost when holding a lead heading into the final frame. The lead was even 78-71 with 6:16 remaining after a Russell Westbrook bucket, so there was a chance crunch time again wouldn't be needed. But Oklahoma City proceeded to score just six points the rest of the way in the defeat.
After that Westbrook layup, the Thunder went 2-of-15 from the field, with Westbrook and Kevin Durant combining to go 1-of-12. The collapse capped off a historically-bad game for Durant, who shot just 7-of-33, the worst percentage ever in the shot-clock era for someone who attempted more than 30 shots in a playoff game, per ESPN Stats & Info.
Some of his misses were shots you'd normally feel confident he'd make. On the third-to-last Thunder possession, KD got two great looks that would've given the Thunder the lead, only he bricked both and Wesley Matthews finished a huge bucket at the other end to put the Mavericks up four:
But there were also far too many poor Thunder possessions with stagnant offense and baffling decisions. That's been a staple of Oklahoma City's crunch-time offense for years, despite having two of the best players in the entire league. The Thunder fired Scott Brooks last summer and hired Billy Donovan in hopes of rectifying some of these problems, but they've only grown worse.
Now, they’re rearing their ugly heads at the most important time. The Thunder threw three total passes on the next three trips down the floor after taking a seven-point lead. The results were a rushed Westbrook mid-range jumper and two contested Durant jumpers that missed badly. The Mavericks scored on all four of their possessions to turn that seven-point deficit into a one-point lead.
Facing a deficit, Westbrook responded by jacking up an inexplicable three-pointer early in the shot clock:
As good as Westbrook is, this type of panicked decision-making remains one of his biggest flaws. It explains why he shot 39 percent overall and 20 percent from three to go along with 21 turnovers (second-most in the NBA) in “clutch” situations this season, per NBA.com. (“Clutch” refers to plays the last five minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime with the margin five points or less).
Steven Adams saved that possession with an offensive rebound, leading to Durant actually creating a good three-point look off dribble penetration. Only that look was for Dion Waiters, a streaky outside shooter in the midst of a horrendous slump.
This brings up another problem for the Thunder: a lack of reliable two-way wing players. Oklahoma City has cycled through scores of swingmen since trading James Harden in 2012, hoping find a consistent threat to play off Durant and Westbrook. Four years later, the team still hasn't found that player. Waiters has been hit-or-miss (but mostly miss). Andre Roberson defends, but can't shoot. Kyle Singler has been a dud this season. Anthony Morrow has been in and out of the rotation because of his poor defense. Trade deadline pickup Randy Foye has shot terribly since coming over from the Nuggets.
Because those players can't cut it, there's even more pressure on Durant and Westbrook to produce more. However, it also results in teams paying more defensive attention to the two stars because the opponent doesn't respect the other guys. Notice how Devin Harris cheated off Waiters to help stop Westbrook dribble penetration. That type of coverage is common:
Oklahoma City's offensive execution only got worse as the clock ticked toward zero. There were consecutive turnovers by Durant and Westbrook, followed by an ill-advised Durant fadeaway against the much smaller Raymond Felton after just one pass from Westbrook into the post:
Kevin Durant was 4-of-26 shooting against defenders who were shorter than he is in Game 2
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 19, 2016
Even after all this, the Thunder had the ball with a tied score with just under a minute left and a chance to rectify their errors. Instead, Donovan drew up a play that featured only Westbrook and Durant touching the ball, and the result was a missed three for Westbrook. The shot was open, but Westbrook is a career 30 percent three-point shooter and was 1-of-5 from long range to that point in the game. If that’s the Thunder’s best after-timeout play, it’s an even worse sign.
This loss shouldn’t cripple the Thunder in this series. The talent gap is too large, the Mavericks are hurting big time and Durant won’t have another game as bad as this one, maybe ever.
But the way Oklahoma City lost this game is emblematic of this talented, yet flawed team’s problems. The Thunder have lost too many games in this fashion to think anything is going to drastically change moving forward. That’s why the idea of them winning a title seems ridiculous even with two of the best six players in the league.
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