OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks last met in the NBA playoffs in 2016, in the first round of Kevin Durant's first and final season with the franchise.
OKC's most memorable run in the playoffs was a seven-game conference finals clash with the 73-win Golden State Warriors, which included the Thunder's 3-1 lead, the legendary Klay Thompson's Game 6 and the impact of the Thunder's loss were also included, putting him in first place. Durant's departure.
The second round series before that also felt heavy. The Thunder took home-court advantage by defeating a 67-win San Antonio Spurs team in six games after Dion Waiters controversially elbowed Manu Ginobili out of bounds. These were the last days of Tim Duncan's career.Young Steven Adams even before the game Migrainesurpassed Duncan in the clincher.
But a first-round matchup against the Mavericks is 10 days of forgotten fun if you like your series to have some spice, even if it lacks long-term competitiveness.
There's an obvious reason why the Thunder entered as strong favorites to win. Durant and Russell Westbrook were 27 years old, in their mid-primes, and hungry. Dirk Nowitzki is 37 years old and still the leading scorer for the No. 6 seeds, but he's no longer an All-Star and there's no one around him. Dallas' other four starters in the series opener were Raymond Felton, Wesley Matthews, Justin Anderson and Zaza Pachulia.
The first game went as expected. Durant and Westbrook combined for 69 points. They cruised. It was set as a yawn. But Game 2, which started about 45 seconds before the tip, revitalized the series.
Westbrook and Cameron Payne, then rookies largely out of the Thunder's rotation, had turned their pregame handshakes into dance routines a few months earlier. Dallas' Charlie Villanueva, an 11-year veteran in his final season, is determined to destroy it. He got right in the middle of it all, creating some real tension for the first time in the series.
Charlie Villanueva tried to disrupt Russell Westbrook and Cameron Payne's pregame routine. pic.twitter.com/7zhvasINPP
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) April 19, 2016
This appeared to be part of Dallas' strategy to gradually ramp up the pressure and physicality. In Game 2, they held the Thunder to 84 points and won. Durant made 7 of 33 shots. Those 26 errors remain the most in a single game in Durant's entire career.
Either way, the Thunder almost won. They did so for about 30 seconds. After Felton missed a free throw with 7.1 seconds left to give the Mavericks an 85-84 lead, Durant and Westbrook shoved the ball in transition. Both players had opportunities to take first shots at the rim. Both missed, but Adams chipped in at the buzzer. It was initially ruled good, giving the Thunder a 2-0 series lead.
But authorities reconsidered it. The ball was still touching Adams' fingertips when the buzzer sounded. This is pretty close to that.
After the game, Westbrook and Durant, who held a joint press conference at the time, were asked about Villanueva's message.
“No,” Durant said. “That's a fake–“
“Yeah. It's fake,” Westbrook said. “That's for players who don't play. We've got to do something.”
Russell Westbrook on Villanueva during pregame dance: “That's for guys who don't play.'' pic.twitter.com/AbwjZsASw8
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 19, 2016
The series moved to Dallas three hours later, and the Thunder responded with the necessary amount of physicality and focus to regain control of the series. Oklahoma City defeated Dallas 131-102 in Game 3, which included a mini-brawl.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle specifically attacked Durant for elbowing backup center Salah Mejri at the free-throw line, and spoke with reporters between games to spotlight the issue. The meeting was changed.
Rick Carlyle was furious yesterday about some “initiations” on the Thunder, but let reporters know about it. His comment: pic.twitter.com/JNwmu3jKnG
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 22, 2016
Carlisle wasn't finished. He took a question from Berry Trammell, a longtime columnist from Oklahoma, and used it as an opportunity to make his point in his creative way. Here are the first and second parts.
Trammel: “When we first played them, they were kind of like virgin lovers in a way. Now you have guys like Adams and (Serge) Ibaka, and they're pretty dirty inside.”
Carlisle: “What's your name again?”
Trammel: “Berry Trammell”
Carlisle: “Berry Trammell from Oklahoman? So you just said… (Thunder) is dirty, so what?”
Trammel: “Now they say they're depressed and dirty.”
Carlisle: “Do they get down and dirty? I want to make sure it's on the record that you said that, but do you cover the team every day?”
Trammel: “Not every day.”
Carlisle: “You said there were two, Adams and Ibaka…”
Trammel: “…And there are two Ibakas – I mean, they are…”
Carlisle: “Are they the initiators?”
Trammel: “Initiator is a good word. Instigator.”
Carlisle: “I'm Berry Trammell from The Oklahoman, and every day I cover teams that say things like this. What about the people on their teams who do things like that?”
Trammel: “Maybe everyone does it.”
Carlisle: “Is everyone doing it?”
Here's a video of Part 1 of Carlyle and Berry's interaction. pic.twitter.com/KmkF6qY0Ng
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 22, 2016
Video of Carlyle and Berry interaction part 2 pic.twitter.com/CQMqC9nYYh
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 22, 2016
Carlisle's tactics did not change the series' inevitable outcome. The Thunder defeated the Mavericks by 11 points in Game 4 and 14 points in Game 5. Enes Freedom had a 28 point night off the OKC bench. Westbrook had 36 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.
This last line was especially noteworthy considering the final episode of the soap opera. Mark Cuban, the Mavericks' majority owner at the time, held court with several Dallas reporters before Game 5. In a series of questions about Nowitzki's supporting cast, Cuban said the Thunder only have one superstar, mentioning Durant. He was asked if Westbrook was eligible.
“He's an All-Star, but I don't think he's a superstar,” Cuban said.
This comment quickly made headlines, of The postgame buzz after Westbrook fired the Mavericks to end the series. Westbrook was asked about Cuban's comments, but Durant, who was again sitting next to him, put his hand in front of Westbrook's microphone before responding.
“Wait a minute,” Durant said. “He's an idiot. Don't ask, shhh…he's an idiot. That's all we have to say about that. He's an idiot. Next question.”
Durant's strong support for Westbrook, especially locally, further cements his belief that he has no intention of leaving the Thunder or his current co-stars.
The postgame questions then turned to Villanueva, who had a brief altercation with Westbrook after interrupting his dance routine in Game 2, ending the series.
“He said it well,” Westbrook said. “He was there.”
“He's an idiot too,” Durant added.
“But now he can go home and do whatever he needs to do to get ready for next year so he can sit back and watch 82 more games like he did this year,” Westbrook said. Told.
The Mavericks faded from immediate relevance. They missed the playoffs for the next three seasons, but began a rapid rebuild by acquiring Luka Doncic. By the time they got back to the playoffs, the Thunder's first great era was over, but they hit the exit button in a timely manner, acquired Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a draft pick, and quickly became a championship contender. Backed up.
So the two franchises, 206 miles apart, would meet again in the playoffs eight years later. Although the rosters are completely different, both teams have a chance to revive a rivalry that lasted when Nowitzki and Durant's teams met three times in five playoff games over the past decade.
(Top photo: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
