Durant scores 29, Thunder beat Mavericks; Westbrook ejected

After a series of late-game meltdowns this season, Thunder F Kevin Durant said he’s going to reverse his trend of waiting until the fourth quarter to increase his offensive activity.

Westbrook shot 0 for 3 from the field and 0 for 4 from the foul line. That being said, Towns, specifically, needs to get minutes during the fourth quarter, not just the final minute, too. I’m never going to take that out of my game. “You have got to just keep playing and they did and I am proud of the way that our guys competed”.

On the season, the Dallas Mavericks average 101.6 points, 43.8 rebounds and 22.0 assists per game. “I’ve gotta get it going in the first three quarters”.

Power Forward Serge Ibaka was flawless from behind the arc for the second straight game.

The Thunder always do this thing where they get a bit exhausted of dominating inferior opponents so they allow them to get within striking distance before icing the game. Westbrook and Durant came back in at this point, and it seemed like they were primed to finish this game once and for all.

That win for Oklahoma City snapped Dallas’ six-game winning at the time.

Timberwolves interim coach Sam Mitchell said he has been purposefully tough on second-year combo guard Zach LaVine.

This is a situation where I both like the decision to stick with the players (in this case, the bench) who are performing, while also not liking the decision to not get Towns back in the game sooner.

Dallas cut what had been a 29-point deficit to 83-69 on a 3-pointer by Barea with 10:14 left.

Dion Waiters scored 18 points for Oklahoma City. Despite the absence of one of its leaders and a zone defense by the Mavericks, the Thunder didn’t stray from its principles, even when Dallas made a run.

As Durant fouled LaVine from behind, the ball went flying up in the air, bouncing high off the backboard before gently falling through the net as the two players collected themselves on the baseline, producing what looked like the craziest and-one bucket of this National Basketball Association season.

Pushing the reigning Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers for 53 minutes before coming up short in a 110-107 overtime loss on their home floor Tuesday, the Dallas Mavericks know they’ll have no time to wallow in their own self-pity before beginning a three-game road trip Wednesday night in Oklahoma City. Andrew Wiggins started off slow again tonight on his way to scoring 22 points on 19 shots, though it should be noted he played better in the second half.