Kevin Durant's jumper with just 1.5 seconds remaining prevented an upset from a spirited Dallas Mavericks team and delivered a 99-98 win to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the 2012 NBA Playoffs.
Durant and company trailed by seven points with just over two minutes remaining thanks to a personal 7-1 run from the Maverick's Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk scored 11 of his 25 points in the game's final five minutes and had the Mavericks in position to pull the upset.
Durant however hit a free throw line jumper over Shawn Marion that hit the front rim and then bounced off the backboard before falling through the net. Dallas was out of timeouts and were unable to advance the ball so they failed to get a shot off at the buzzer.
Russell Westbrook led the way for the Thunder scoring 28 points and adding five assists. Durant finished with 25 point on 10 of 27 shooting. Serge Ibaka gave the Thunder 22 points, six boards and five blocks while James Harden returned from the Ron Artest elbow to score 19 off the bench.
Nowitzki's 25 points led the way for Dallas. Jason Terry hit 8 of 10 shots off the bench to finish with 20 points. Shawn Marion added 17 points and eight rebounds while Vince Carter finished with 13 and seven off the bench.
Game 2 of this series is scheduled for Monday night with an 8:30 p.m. CT tip off.
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