Oklahoma City Thunder 104, Dallas Mavericks 102

Dallas Mavericks had a last-second loss at the hands of Kevin Durant and the Thunder.

Layne Murdoch

No excuses.

Despite his team’s sluggish play through the first two games of the regular season, Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle preached to his players the need not to make excuses for themselves entering Thursday night’s nationally-televised showdown with the unbeaten Oklahoma City Thunder.

Although the new-look, veteran Mavericks certainly haven’t received sufficient practice time while integrating their newcomers, Carlisle emphasized that no team would take the defending champions lightly. That message was especially true of the Thunder, who entered its fourth game in five nights looking to avenge a Western Conference finals series loss in five games last season.

“We’re not going for built-in excuses. Look, we’re not going there. Nobody’s getting any sympathy cards saying, ‘Hey, it’s really too bad what’s happen to you guys the first two games.’ It ain’t happening. Old team, young team, you gotta play,” Carlisle empathically said.

With his message clear and concise, the coach and his players stepped into Chesapeake Energy Arena looking to upstage the home team in front of a national audience. But Kevin Durant and the Thunder (4-0) had other things in mind, with the two-time scoring champion saving his best for last to down the Mavs to a 104-102 defeat with a game-winning 3-pointer as time expired.

“It took a heck of a shot from Durant to beat us. So, definitely a step in the right direction, but this league is cruel. A loss is a loss and now we’re 0-3,” Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki said after his team’s heartbreaking defeat.

Using a starting lineup of Jason Kidd, Delonte West, Shawn Marion, Nowitzki, and Brendan Haywood for the second straight game, Carlisle got his wish in the early minutes of the opening quarter. Behind the scoring duo of Nowitzki and West, the Mavericks (0-3) got off to a quick start, taking an advantage as large as 12. But when the 1-2 punch headed to the bench the Thunder stormed back with a run powered by Durant and All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook.

Still, after a corner 3-pointer from star reserve Jason Terry, the Mavs emerged with a 29-28 edge after one to take their first lead of the season at the end of a quarter.

“If you looked at those first two games, that wasn’t the Mavericks at all. Tonight, this was the Mavericks,” Terry said.

“I like the fight we showed,” Nowitzki added. “For the first time, trying to get up and play together and fighting for each other out there. That’s what’s gonna get it done in this league.”

Getting a helping hand from its bench and sixth man James Harden, the Thunder continued to answer the Mavs’ spurts early in the second stanza. The teams’ two leading scorers — Nowitzki and Durant — then exchanged scores, before Harden pushed his squad to a 56-52 halftime advantage.

With Durant outdueling Nowitzki, 18-14, in first-half scoring the Thunder capitalized off 60.6 percent shooting compared to Dallas’ 44.7 percent from the floor at the midway point. Meanwhile, the Mavs remained close by capitalizing off OKC’s giveaways, turning 13 Thunder turnovers into 17 points at the other end.

The Mavs appeared to be in control and poised to take the upper hand on the scoreboard in the third period, battling the Thunder and the basketball gods after a freak play ended with Haywood tipping the ball in for an Oklahoma City score. Still, the big man would begin to assert himself inside against the Thunder defense while West resumed his assault from the outside.

But the Thunder charged back yet again, closing the quarter with a 13-3 run capped by Daequan Cook’s corner triple to beat the buzzer and give the home squad a 78-76 advantage entering the final 12 minutes of play.

The Thunder did its best to separate, but the Mavs stood strong thanks to back-to-back-to-back jumpers from Nowitzki and Terry to trim the deficit to two. Things then got heated after West and Eric Maynor exchanged words, spilling over to a pushing match and double-technical foul call on Serge Ibaka and Vince Carter.

When emotions calmed down the Mavs went back to their potent offensive duo, with Terry draining a corner 3-pointer to give the Mavs a 91-89 edge. The Thunder fired right back with Westbrook first dunking home a thunderous and-1 slam before a jumper from the wing to lift Oklahoma City to a 96-93 margin with 2:29 still on the clock.

Not to be denied was Nowitzki, whose 3-pointer tied the game before Durant answered with a jumper at the other end. The 7-foot Nowitzki then briefly lost his cool, called for a technical for arguing with officials after a moving screen foul for his fourth personal of the night.

That’s when Westbrook tried to put the Mavs away for good, but Terry brought his visiting team once again within two with another shot from behind the arc with 39.5 ticks remaining. The Mavs then got one more chance after Ibaka failed to make both free throws following a Nowitzki foul, with the Mavs’ go-to player grabbing the rebound and calling timeout with 9.3 seconds remaining.

Out of the inbound pass, the ball went to Nowitzki but the big man deferred to Carter. The eight-time All-Star didn’t hesitate to shoot a 3-pointer from the top of the key that found nothing but the bottom of the net with 1.4 seconds left for the Thunder to answer.

“For me, when my number is called, I’m just trying to be effective. For this team, it’s not about how many points you score. Move the ball and be effective,” said Carter, who scored eight points on the night and believed he had lifted the Mavs to a win.

But it would prove to be too much time for Durant.

The ball was inbounded Durant’s way, but with little time to set his feet the All-Star fired a fadeaway from behind the arc as time expired, sending the crowd into frenzy as it found all net to down the Mavs to their third straight loss.

“[Durant] came off and made a phenomenal shot. I don’t know how far, 30, 32 feet, whatever it was. He’s capable of doing that. Right now, he’s probably the best player in the league with what he has been doing in the first four games. He’s capable of that. Again, when you’re going through a tough stretch, those type of shots go in against you. Right now, that’s our reality,” Carlisle said.

“He shot a 30-footer fading away. That’s a heck of a shot that not a lot of people in this league can make,” Nowitzki echoed.

Durant finished with a game-high 30 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 3-for-5 from 3-point range to go with 11 rebounds, just besting Nowitzki’s 29 points on 9-of-17 from the field and 10 boards to lead Dallas.

“Nine times out of 10, we’re going to win that ball game. Kevin Durant, hell of a job,” Terry added.

Westbrook and Ibaka added 16 points each, while Harden finished with 15 off the Thunder bench. Meanwhile, Terry pitched in 16 points to lead the Dallas reserves and West poured in 15 points in the first unit to give the Mavs three in double figures.

The Thunder also outshot the Mavs on the night, 58.7 percent to 42.2 percent, while the two battled to a 38-all rebounding stalemate. But the Dallas team did cut down on its ailing turnovers, surrendering only 12 giveaways on the night compared to Oklahoma City’s 26 that turned into 33 points for the Mavs at the other end.

The Mavs now return to Dallas to play a Toronto team coached by former Dallas assistant Dwane Casey on Friday night, taking the court on the second night of a back-to-back and trying to spit out the bitterness of the last-second loss.

“We have to make our own breaks,” Carlisle said moving forward. “To me, that’s what personalizing the game means. We have to make our breaks, and right now, the basketball gods are not on our side. We have to get them on our side. You don’t do that unless you do things right all the time. We’re making strides, but we’re not there yet.”

Note: The team returns to Dallas to face off with the Toronto Raptors on Friday night, with that game set to air on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS (6287).

Single-game tickets are on sale and available at the American Airlines Center North Box Office, online at mavs.com, via phone by calling 214-747-MAVS or 1-800-4NBA-TIX and all Ticketmaster outlets (Fiesta Grocery Stores, Wal-Mart, Simon Mall in Garland, and the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano).

Rivalry Pack: Aside from being a season ticket holder, the only way for Mavs fans to attend either of the two Los Angeles Lakers games is through the Rivalry Pack. Tickets to the Feb.22 and March 21 games vs. the Los Angeles Lakers can be purchased as part of a three-game package that includes one of the three premium games and two additional regular season games.

RPL Nights: RPL Nights return for the sixth season and will feature special discounted tickets for 10 pre-selected games. Tickets normally priced $9 will be $2, $15 will be $10, $31 will be $20, and $42 will be $32.