An Epic Night in Oklahoma City
Sad KD
So I just saw a graphic on ESPN2 saying that in the last 15 years, there have been 67 instances of a team leading by 15 or more with less than 5 minutes to go in the NBA Playoffs. In those 67 instances, only once has a team come back and won the game. We all just witnessed it, this lone outlier of a game. The Mavs hung around all night and were in striking distance distance until the 4:48 mark when Kevin Durant hit a three to put the lead up to 15 at which point my buddy Jacob (a die hard Spurs fan, no less) and I looked at each other and said; “well that’s ball game”. We were both sitting on my living room sofa where we both had watched the entire game up until this point.
It was then that Jacob asked me; “When you’re team is getting slaughtered, do you like to change the channel to just some random show out of disgust?”
“No (irritated)…I like to let the Mavs toy with my emotions…I’m sick like that”, I respond.
About 15 minutes later I’m sitting on my coffee table, my face about 4 feet from my TV rubbing my palms together as the Mavericks grab a Thabo Sefolosha reb
ound and march down the court, down by 2 points with about 18 seconds left on the clock. Carlisle doesn’t call a timeout. Kidd begins to run the pick and roll with the best player on the planet, Dirk Nowitzki. The clock is dwindling; 10 seconds…9…8…(I’m now crouched in front of my TV). Dirk slips the pick and gets a step on the trailing Nick Collison. Immediately Kidd sees the opening and threads the needle to Dirk and Collison grabs Dirk around his waist and pulls himself ahead to deflect the pass. out of bounds. Foul on Dirk. There’s an explosion of joy in my living room. Dirk Calmly sinks the two free throws to tie the game. Jacob (now standing up behind my sofa, pacing, both hands on his head) and I look at each other.
“Can you believe this?”
“No (shaking head, perplexed). No I can’t. This is unreal. I can’t think of anything like this since the Portland collapse against The Lakers”, Jacob responds.
So you know how the story ends. Kevin Durant and The Thunder get the ball back with a almost 7 seconds left and as they have all season long, get a horrible shot off in the closing seconds of a close game. A shot that’s ultimate blocked by Shawn Marion (who by the way, played the defensive game of his life). The Mavs would go on to win 112-105 in possible the most thrilling Mavs game I’ve seen since Calvin booth hit a layup with 3 seconds left in Game 5 against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City in the 2001 NBA Playoffs.
There’s nothing better in sports than when you witness a ‘Moment’; a game that you know you’ll remember until your dying day and a day that you can recollect and relive for many years. Dirk’s Game 7 Winner against San Antonio in the 2006 Western Conference Finals definitely qualifies but for me this was much sweeter because it was so unexpected. The Mavs could have been content with the split having recapture home court and the series tied 2-2, but they showed championship mettle and completed the most improbably comeback in recent NBA Playoffs history.
Such a great time to be a Mavericks Fan.