Dallas vs Oklahoma Game 2 Oklahoma wins tie to 1-1

Thunder-Mavericks notebook

THE FACTS: James Harden put Oklahoma City ahead with a four-point play at the end of the third quarter and scored 10 of his 23 points in the fourth as the Thunder held off Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks, knotting up the Western Conference finals with a 106-100 victory in Dallas in Game 2 on Thursday night.
Nowitzki, coming off a 48-point effort in the series opener, scored 16 of his 29 points in the fourth, but Oklahoma City answered every bucket and shot 65 percent (11-for-17) in the period. The Mavericks had their franchise-record seven-game postseason winning streak snapped and lost for the first time in seven home playoff games.
QUOTABLE: "We have a lot of confidence in James. I personally do, our team does, our staff does. He made plays. He made big basketball plays, and James is not just a spot-up shooter. He is a penetrator. He is a playmaker, and I thought he did it all tonight."
-- Thunder head coach Scott Brooks on Harden.
THE STAT: After getting outscored 53-22 in Game 1, the Oklahoma City bench outscored the Dallas reserves by a 50-29 margin in Game 2. In addition to Harden's 23 points and seven rebounds, the Thunder got 13 points from Eric Maynor, eight points from Daequan Cook and six points, six rebounds and two blocks from Nick Collison. Harden and Maynor played all 12 minutes in the fourth quarter, while Cook played 11:47 and Collison went 11:23 before fouling out.
TURNING POINT: Dallas trailed 91-90 with less than seven minutes to play, but Oklahoma City pulled away with an 11-2 run. Harden capped it with a cold-blooded 22-footer over Jason Terry to make it 102-92 with 3:15 remaining.
QUOTABLE II: "I can't remember the last time we lost the battle of the bench. It was going to happen at some point and it happened tonight and I give them a lot of credit. They were more aggressive and they made more big shots."
-- Mavericks guard J.J. Barea.
QUOTABLE III: "Our defense, our energy ... when the first unit came out and the second unit went in, we kept it up and that was the difference."
-- Harden.
HOT: Harden was 6-for-9 from the field (4-for-7 3-pointers) and 7-for-8 at the line with seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. ... Kevin Durant scored 14 of his 24 points in the first quarter. ... Dallas center Tyson Chandler had 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. ... Jason Kidd tallied 13 points, seven assists, five rebounds and five steals.
NOT: Mavericks guard DeShawn Stevenson was 1-for-6 from the field, all from beyond the arc, and Shawn Marion was 4-for-13. ... Dallas shot just 37.5 percent (15-for-40) in the second half, compared to 55.9 percent (19-for-34) by Oklahoma City.
GOOD MOVE: Brooks gambled with an unorthodox lineup in crunch time and it paid off. Durant played the entire fourth quarter, but no other Thunder starters were on the court for more than 37 seconds in the pivotal period. Russell Westbrook (18 points, four assists and four turnovers) and Kendrick Perkins didn't play at all in the fourth.
BAD MOVE: With the shot clock winding down and 7.5 seconds left in the third quarter, Terry fouled Harden on a 3-point shot. Harden swished the shot and made the free throw to turn a 76-73 deficit into a 77-76 lead entering the fourth.
NOTABLE: Oklahoma City has not lost back-to-back games this postseason. ... Nowitzki was 9-for-10 at the free-throw line after making an NBA playoff-record 24-for-24 in the opener. His fourth-quarter miss snapped his streak of 39 consecutive made free throws in the postseason. ... This was the first time all season that Dallas has lost when Nowitzki attempts 10 or more foul shots (17-1).
UP NEXT: Game 3 is Saturday @ Oklahoma City (9 p.m. ET, ESPN).