Thunder VS Mavericks (Game 5)

Thunder Win Series 4-1

The Maverick played great, they really did. But this OKC team was just way too much for them to handle. I have to admit that this has been my favorite series to watch so far. It's been a chippy, scrappy game, and I have loved the effort from the Mavs.

The Mavs had one big thing working against them. They were worn out, and you could tell. The effort was there defensively. The Mavs contested most of the shots that the Thunder put up. However, if you take a look at the 4th quarter. The Thunder were destroying them offensively and the Mavs were shooting very poorly. In the last 5 minutes of the game. The Mavs shot just 2-11 from the field where the Thunder shot 3-8 and were sent to the FT line multiple times just because of the bad defensive positioning of the Mavs.

The fact is, the Mavs fought, and they fought hard. 6 of their players had at least 10 points. Barea had 8 points and Devin Harris had 9 as well. The team had 24 assists. They moved the ball really well. If they could have made shots in the late 4th, I have to think they would have won. The Mavs just couldn't hit shots.

As for OKC, they need to go back to the defense they had in game 1. The Thunder's defensive rotations were way too late on every possession it seemed. Their defense was just bad. They need to go back to their great defense from game 1 and I think it starts with Westbrook just putting in more effort. They need to step it up if they are going to even have a chance against the Spurs, because the Spurs will always find the open man and rip apart weak defenses.