Jason Terry missed two game-tying three-pointers in the final seconds as the Thunder held on for a 102-99 win to take a 2-0 series lead in their first round matchup against the Dallas Mavericks.
Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 29 points on 10-for-21 shooting. Kevin Durant scored 26, going 14-for-16 from the three-throw line. The charity stripe was big for the Thunder, who went 37-for-39 at the line. Trailing by one with 50 seconds left, the Thunder made all six free-throw attempts to take the lead and hold on for the win. For their part, the Mavs went 28-for-32 from the line.
Late in the first quarter, Oklahoma City went on a 25-7 run to take a 46-30 lead midway through the second and looked like they might pull away a little bit. But the Mavs answered with a 17-4 run to bring the game close again. The Thunder led 57-50 at halftime.
Dallas opened the second half on a 17-7 run to retake the lead, and the teams traded the lead back and forth the rest of the night. Trailing 97-96 with 50 seconds left, Durant was fouled on an inbounds play and made both free throws to give Oklahoma City the lead. James Harden made four free throws down the stretch to extend Oklahoma City's lead to three points, and Terry's misses ended the game. Harden finished with 15 points, going 10-for-10 from the free-throw line.
Dirk Nowitzki led all scorers with 31 points for the Mavs, but he missed a wide-open three pointer that would have given Dallas a four-point lead with just over a minute to play. The Mavs went 5-for-23 from three-point range and the Thunder have a 2-0 series lead.
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