THUNDER 117, MAVERICKS 114
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Russell Westbrook had 31 points and 11 assists, hitting two key baskets in the final 63 seconds, and Oklahoma City rallied from a double-digit third-quarter deficit to snap Dallas’ six-game winning streak.
Serge Ibaka had 16 points, nine rebounds and a key late blocked shot for Oklahoma City, which was without star forward Kevin Durant (injured hamstring) for the sixth straight game.
Westbrook broke a 113-113 tie with a jumper with 1:03 left. Zaza Pachulia made 1 of 2 from the free-throw line to pull the Mavericks within a point before Westbrook’s 18-foot jumper with 24 seconds left capped the scoring.
Deron Williams led Dallas with 20 points, but missed an 18-footer and had his layup attempt blocked by Ibaka on consecutive possessions, and Wesley Mathews’ last-second off-balance heave from 3-point range came nowhere close to the basket
Alwin Marshall-Squire is the Editor-in-Chief of S-Q Publications Inc., overseeing editorial strategy for GTA Weekly, GTA Today, and Vision Newspaper. He leads the publications’ mission to deliver bold, original journalism focused on the people and communities of the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, and the global Caribbean diaspora.
Also writes for GTA Weekly and GTA Today.
