Thunder obliterates Dallas 112-91

Oklahoma City took care of business tonight against the Dallas Mavericks in a blow out 112-91 victory. The Thunder lead by as many as 33 point tonight, mainly because of the stingy defense that forced 14 turn overs and lead to 23 points.

(AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

The first quarter was back-and-forth between the two teams. There were 5 lead changes in the quarter and 7 ties. While Oklahoma City struggled from the field, only shooting 42% , they were able to get to the line and capitalize - going 9/11 in the quarter, and was a big reason they were able to stick around. The Mavericks shot an impressive 52% but were sloppy and lackadaisical with the ball, turning it over 5 times for 9 points.

Oklahoma City used a huge second quarter scoring wise to break the lead wide open. The Thunder shot 73% in the quarter behind  a combined 9-11 shooting performance for 26 points by Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Martin. With their unstoppable fast-break, OKC was able to run both ends of the floor and force turn overs - scoring 10 fast break points in the quarter out of a total of 25.

The third quarter was close - despite the Mavericks only shooting 30%, but without any big runs besides a 8-2 run by the Mavericks early in the quarter, Dallas struggled to close the gap on the Thunder and continued to turn over the ball and miss wide-open shots. Shawn Marion had a big third trying to will his Mavericks back into the game - scoring 11 points on 4/5 shooting, but no one was able to stop the Thunder's complete team effort.

With a 92-67 lead going into the fourth, the Thunder starters took a rest and let the reserves come in for the final period. Players such as Eric Maynor and Daniel Orton made their appearances and kept the momentum going for the Thunder. They were out scored 20-24 in the quarter by the Mavs but by then it was all too late. They extended the lead to 33 at one point, and held the ball the final possession to let the clock run out. Oklahoma City moves on to face the Golden State Warriors who gave the Thunder one of their losses on their previous 3-3 road trip. The two are tied 1-1 on the season series, and play in the Peake' on Wednesday.

Thunder Essentials:

Perimeter Defense - A

It was big for the Thunder to play excellent D tonight, as the Mavericks are one of the best shooting teams in the league. They did just that, as they held Dallas to just 41% shooting from the field, and completely shut them down from beyond the arc - holding them to just 18%(3-16) from the 3 point line.

Rebounding - B

The Thunder out rebounded the Mavericks 48-40 in the contest, and were able to convert 8 Offensive Rebounds into 7 easy points. They allowed 6 offensive rebounds themselves, but Dallas just converted 1 point despite the effort.

Points in the Paint - B+

OKC came into tonight's game averaging 40.8 points in the paint a game. They destroyed Dallas with their inside game, scoring 48 points and doing so efficiently(24/43). Though the Thunder's interior defense was sub-par - allowing 42 Mavericks points inside, their perimeter defense made up for it.