Thunder Falls to Dallas after Fourth-Quarter Meltdown

A 22-point fourth quarter pushed the Mavericks to their fifth consecutive win.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:07 pm

By: News On 6

Thunder Falls to Dallas after Fourth-Quarter Meltdown

Originally Published: Dec 27, 2010 9:38 PM CDT

Gerald Goodridge
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A big fourth quarter lifted the Dallas Mavericks to a 103-93 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday.

The fourth quarter started at an 81-81 tie, but the Mavericks took control in the opening minutes of the final period. The Mavs strung together a 9-3 run – including seven by Jason Terry – to take a 90-84 lead with less than six minutes left to play.

That run ballooned to a 10-point lead with less than a minute to play.

Terry scored 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, while dishing out eight assists in the contest. Forward Caron Butler led Dallas with 21 points, while Jason Kidd finished with 10 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.

Thunder star Kevin Durant led all scorers with 28 points, but shot less than 50 percent from the floor. Russell Westbrook added 15 points, while James Harden scored 18 coming off the bench.

The Mavericks opened up the game with a big lead after falling behind 8-3. They responded with a 21-6 run to take a 24-15 lead halfway through the first quarter. However, the Thunder responded with a quick seven in the closing minutes of the quarter to close the deficit to five points.

Oklahoma City battled back in the second quarter and an Eric Maynor buzzer-beater 3-pointer tied the game at 56 going into the locker room.

The two teams exchanged leads in the third quarter, but Oklahoma City went on an 8-3 run in the closing minutes of the third quarter to take an 81-79 lead at the start of the fourth.

The Thunder will take a day off before hosting the New Jersey Nets at 7 p.m. in the Ford Center.