The Dallas Mavericks are down 0-2, and a quick glance at the series outcome so far insinuates that things are lopsided against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Yet anyone watching the games will tell you that the Mavs could easily have won both of the first two games of the series and that the defending champs should still control their own destiny — although now they face an uphill battle.
No matter how much they roar back, the Thunder seem to have the final answers — something that Jason Terry could not find at the buzzer last night and the very thing that Kevin Durant found the time before. Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle sounds stumped.
“You’ve got to give them credit for what they’re doing and we’ve got to just; we can’t dig ourselves a 16-point hole in the first half,” Carlisle said. “That’s something that’s tough. I love the way we fought back and it was great. Guys hung in, they kept their poise, all that. But, hey look, they held serve and we’ve got to go home and hold serve, too.”
The Mavs now take the home court baton and they have to hope that the advantage there is enough to even the series. Despite the close games and experience, however, coming back from being down 0-2 in a series is tough to do in the NBA Playoffs.