Durant, Westbrook lead Thunder over Mavs 116-103 for sweep
DALLAS (AP) - Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook scored 24 points apiece and the Oklahoma City Thunder completed a season sweep of Dallas with a 116-103 victory against the Mavericks on Wednesday night.
Westbrook also had 13 assists and seven rebounds as the Thunder scored the first 15 points of the fourth quarter and weathered a 14-0 Dallas run to avoid matching a season high with a third straight loss in their first game since a blowout defeat at home against Cleveland.
The addition of David Lee didn't help the Mavericks inside. Steven Adams scored 11 of his 15 points in the third quarter and Enes Kanter scoring eight in the first 5 minutes of the fourth, the last on a dunk to finish Oklahoma City's 15-0 run for a 102-81 lead.
Dirk Nowitzki had a season-high 33 points to lead the Mavericks, who went 0-4 against a possible first-round playoff opponent.
While Oklahoma City is comfortably in third place in the Western Conference, Dallas has lost six of eight to fall into a group of four teams battling for the last three postseason berths.
Dion Waiters, relegated to the bench with Andre Roberson's return from a 10-game absence and struggling from 3-point range, hit consecutive shots from beyond the arc to give the Thunder a 96-81 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Waiters scored 11 of his 14 points in the fourth, when he made all three shots from long range.
Durant and Westbrook carried the Oklahoma City offense until the Mavericks rallied and took their first lead at 63-62 on a jumper by Deron Williams early in the third quarter.
The Thunder came out of the third with an 87-81 lead thanks in large part to Adams. The 7-footer had a pair of offensive rebounds and baskets to go with two blocks when the teams were trading the lead.
After missing 14 straight shots, Dallas made six in a row and pulled to 105-97 with a chance to get closer. But Nowitzki missed a jumper and Wesley Matthews was off on a 3 before Durant made one from long range to get the lead back to double digits for good.
Durant hit a 40-footer at the first-half buzzer to give the Thunder a 58-51 lead after they twice let the Mavericks get within two after leading by double digits. He had 17 before halftime, and Westbrook had 14.
Kanter led the Thunder with nine rebounds, while Serge Ibaka had 13 points and eight boards. Durant also had eight rebounds to go with six assists.
Lee replaced Nowitzki midway through the first quarter in his Dallas debut. He had four points and four rebounds in 15 minutes in his first game since Jan. 10 with Boston, which waived him last week.
TIP-INS
Thunder: Roberson, who missed nine of the 10 games with a sprained right knee, had four points on 1-of-5 shooting in 21 minutes. ... Randy Foye scored six points on a pair of 3-pointers in his second game since coming over at the trade deadline in a deal with Denver.
Mavericks: Rookie C Salah Mejri had four blocks in the first half, including one each on Durant and Westbrook in a replay of the last game in Dallas between these teams. ... Matthews had 15 points, all on 3-pointers, and Williams finished with 14 points and six assists. ... Raymond Felton had 10 points and nine assists.
UP NEXT:
Thunder: At New Orleans on Thursday.
Mavericks: Host Denver on Friday.