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If Dirk Nowitzki can't play in it, he's darn sure going to watch the Western Conference finals between the Dallas Mavericks' oldest rival and their newest.

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The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder tip off on Sunday night. Who's Dirk got?

"I think San Antonio's going to do it, just because they've got one more home game," he said during Tuesday's appearance on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM's "Galloway & Company." "They really came on strong late in the season and they snatched home-court advantage away from OKC. So, I got to think just by that there is a little slight advantage. But honestly, both teams are good enough to win on the opponent's floor, so I would give a slight advantage to San Antonio, but, man, OKC is looking really good."

He should know. The Thunder rode the Mavs out of the first round in four games, handing Nowitzki the wrong side of the broom for the first time in his career.

Nowitzki's had his classic battles with the Spurs, including the amazing Game 7 in the 2006 semifinals that propelled Dallas to its first NBA Finals. It was a Spurs team that still included the Big Three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, yet, as Nowitzki pointed out, it is an entirely different style of ball those boys are playing these days, and the reigning NBA Finals MVP says all credit goes to this season's Coach of the Year, Gregg Popovich.

"To me, he's the best coach in the league, he's a genius on both ends of the floor," Nowitzki said. "The adjustment that he goes through -- at the beginning they win all their championships with defense, and he saw where the game's going; the game is going to free-flowing and more movement, you need basically four shooters on the floor at all times, and he's the man, he made it all happen.

"With [general manager] R.C. Buford helping him, finding people left and right. I mean, they draft people in the second round that nobody gives them a shot and they turn them into players. They have an amazing franchise and they really do a great job finding people that play well in their system and Pop makes them believe in their system. They're really fun to watch, they're rolling."

Dirk said he's ready to get this series going now, but unfortunately we'll have to wait until the end of the weekend. So, he's got the Spurs getting back to the NBA Finals for the first time in five seasons, but he's looking for the thing to go the distance, strictly from an entertainment standpoint.

"It's going to be spectacular. Hopefully, it's going to be a long series and we can all watch some great basketball," Nowitzki said. "The whole thing is full of great matchups. Just off the bench with Ginobili and [James] Harden going at it, the two point guards, obviously [Russell] Westbrook was phenomenal against us all series, but Parker is having a phenomenal year, probably in the prime of his career and Duncan is still looking really good this year. And now they got another week off to rest everybody.

"So, it's going to be an incredible series to watch."

Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle had high praise for the Oklahoma City Thunder after being swept out of the first round, and his opinion was likely only reinforced after OKC's impressive dismantling and elimination of the Los Angeles Lakers in five games.

"No question that they got better," Carlisle said, comparing this OKC team that is 8-1 in the playoffs to the one the Mavs ousted in five games in last season's West finals. "When they went through what they did last year where they won two rounds and got in a tough series with us and basically were right there in every game, you take quantum leaps in terms of your emotional growth, understanding what it takes to advance to the highest levels."

It's been documented by the Thunder's coolness and effectiveness under late-game duress against the Mavs and Lakers, extinguishing the harshest criticism heaped on the kiddos a year ago.

If the Thunder, elevated by a core of four players age 23 and younger -- Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka -- beat the championship-pedigreed and re-invented San Antonio Spurs in the West finals, their path to the NBA Finals will have rolled through the three franchises that have represented the West since 1999, and that have won 10 of the last 13 championships.

It would certainly signal an official restructuring of the West hierarchy.

"Their players individually have gotten better," Carlisle said. "Westbrook is a better player this year. Durant’s a little stronger and a little bit better. Ibaka has taken a major quantum leap and (Kendrick) Perkins, last year he wasn’t the same player. He was coming off of a surgery the previous summer and there’s a huge difference in his body this year. He’s 20 to 25 pounds lighter, back playing above the rim again and was doing some good things offensively. He really brought toughness to their team. They’re in a great position."

If OKC goes on to win it all -- and for the sake of argument let's say it beats the Miami Heat in the Finals -- will a run through the Mavs, Lakers, Spurs and Heat be more impressive than the trail of superstar ashes left in the Mavs' wake as they bulldozed through the Lakers, Thunder and Heat?

With at least four more days until the start of this highly anticipated West final, let the debate begin.

DALLAS -- "No question," was Jason Terry's response when asked if he's thinking that tonight's Game 4 could be his last wearing a Dallas Mavericks uniform.

"All that’s on the line and all those thoughts are there," Terry said. "And that means more of a reason why I want to come out and play well tonight and get the win."

It's been a wild eight-year run in Dallas for Terry, who was acquired in 2004 in a no-win situation to take over for the beloved Steve Nash. It didn't help that Nash and the Suns eliminated the Mavs in the second round with the former Mavs point guard nailing a huge 3-point shot with Terry playing off of him and Dirk Nowitzki then giving his new teammate an earful.

Bygones are bygones. That's what winning a title will do for you. That was just 11 months ago, and now here the Mavs are, not only staring down first-round elimination, but a sweep at the hands of the youthful Oklahoma City Thunder.

"But no excuses," Terry said. "Come out here tonight. If we get one it's going to get scary. The pressure is on them."

Terry played the pressure card, trying to sound convincing that team up 3-0 in the series is actually shouldering the pressure. Terry said he's also been taking other measures to help get Dallas a win and begin to turn this thing around.

"I broke every broom in the house, so that’s a little superstition so I don’t think there will be any sweeps going on," Terry said. "I’ve got the black shoes on for tonight. I wanted to wear the gold ones, but they (the NBA) banned them. We’re going to try the black suit thing -- the funeral -- and we just hope it ain't ours."

After his red-hot start to the series, Terry has not been a factor, averaging 14.7 points and 4.0 assists. He's had trouble breaking free for open looks, particularly when guarded by 23-year-old Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook.

"The pressure is on them all the way," Terry said. "They're kind of young. They might not realize it, but it’s there, and hopefully they’ll feel it during the game because it’s hard to close a team out. And then if you do lose, then what? Now you start to think about it a little bit. Not a situation (down 3-0) we want to be in, but we’ll take it at this point."

DALLAS -- How it happened: Oklahoma City built a 15-point lead in the first and second quarters, and the Mavericks could never keep a run going long enough to make it a game. The defending champions are truly up against it, down 3-0.

To avoid a humiliating sweep after an embarrassing, wire-to-wire Game 3 loss on their home floor, the defending champs must win Game 4 in Dallas on Saturday night.

The Mavs had two promising runs that got snuffed, one late in the second quarter to cut the deficit to seven and one early in the third that chopped it to five, 50-45. But a red-hot Kevin Durant (31 points on 11-of-15 shooting, 8-of-10 in the first half) and his running buddy Russell Westbrook (20 points on 8-of-19, 5-of-8 in the second half) kicked it back in gear to go up 60-48 with 7:21 left in the third quarter, and then it was quickly 66-50.

And then 83-58, and it was lights out.

Durant, after shooting just 34.1 percent in the first two games, was magnificent from the jump. On the Mavs' side, superstar Dirk Nowitzki never seemed engaged. He was 4-of-8 from the floor in the first half and finished 6-of-15 for 17 points. He even missed three free throws. Jason Terry was terrible, 1-of-6 in the first half, and he finished with just 11 points.

Dallas shot an abysmal 34.2 percent for the game.

The bottom line to it all, as much as the Mavs and their fans wanted to believe otherwise, is that this stripped-down version of the title team lacks essential parts to properly function. Gone: the fiery leadership, rebounding and defense of Tyson Chandler; the penetration of J.J. Barea; and the fierceness of DeShawn Stevenson.

These Mavs really are too old and too slow to keep up with the Thunder's remarkable foursome of Durant, Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and James Harden, all of whom have yet to turn 24. And to think this is the team most fans wanted over the Los Angeles Lakers. It probably didn't matter.

Things got off to a chaotic start in the first quarter with the Mavs believing they were on the wrong side of the whistle more than once. Nowitzki got nailed with a technical four minutes into the game, and then an absolutely irate Rick Carlisle got his own and was fortunate not to get ejected.

Durant and the Thunder came out throwing haymakers, and jumped out to a 28-13 lead. The Mavs closed the gap to 32-26 with a 13-4 run to close the quarter. But Dallas scored just 15 points in the second quarter and 16 in the third.

What it means: No team has come back from a 3-0 series deficit. If Dallas is going to avoid becoming the first defending champion since the 2007 Miami Heat to bow out in the first round, the Mavs will have to overcome decades of NBA postseason history. Miami, one season removed from rallying past the Mavs in the NBA Finals, was swept by the Chicago Bulls.

Bold play of the game: Early in the third quarter, the Mavs were desperately trying to keep a run alive, having pushed to within 50-45, but OKC was back up 54-45. Delonte West drove the lane, looking to score and maybe an and-1, but his shot was swatted away by Ibaka for his third and final block of the game. Westbrook pulled up for a jumper at the other end, and it was 56-45 with 8:51 to go.

Stat of the game: Since the Mavs beat the Thunder 4-1 in the Western Conference finals last season, they are 1-6 against OKC.

DALLAS – The Mavs would be up 2-0 in this series if the NBA played 10-minute quarters.

Unfortunately for the defending champions, that isn’t the quarters. NBA quarters last a dozen minutes, and the Mavs have been getting killed by the Thunder in the final couple minutes of those frames.

PODCAST
Senior NBA writer Marc Stein shares his thoughts on Game 3 between the Mavs and Thunder. Who needs to step up for the Mavs to win other than Dirk or Jet? Listen

With the two games decided by a total of four points, the difference in the series so far is that the Mavs have crumbled in crunch time while the Thunder have thrived. Oklahoma City outscored the Mavs by a 10-4 margin in the final two minutes of Game 1 and 6-2 in the final two minutes of Game 2.

But it’s not just the fourth quarter. Oklahoma City has outscored the Mavs by a 52-29 margin in the final two minutes of the eight quarters in this series.

“All these things are just attention-to-detail things,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “Then you’ve got to make shots or you’ve got to put yourself in position to not foul or whatever the case may be. Ends of quarters in NBA games are difficult. Guys are skilled; they make plays. So you’ve got to be solid.”

Series: Oklahoma City Thunder leads, 2-0

When: 8:30 p.m.

Where: American Airlines Center

TV: TNT/TXA 21

Radio: ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1270 AM (Spanish)

What to watch: Can the Mavs get buckets in crunch time? Give the Thunder credit for closing, but the Mavs have also blown opportunities. The biggest culprit has been Dirk Nowitzki, who was such a dominant closer during the Mavs’ championship run last year. He committed two turnovers in the final 90 seconds of Game 1. In Game 2, Nowitzki missed a wide-open 3-pointer and had a baseline fadeaway roll around the rim and out. “It still comes down the stretch to make some big shots,” Nowitzki said.

Key matchup: Dallas defense vs. Russell Westbrook – Will Rick Carlisle make a major adjustment or just hope that Westbrook stops making so many midrange jumpers? Westbrook, one of the NBA’s most explosive penetrating threats, has lit up the Mavs primarily by shooting over Delonte West and Jason Kidd. Switching defensive stopper Shawn Marion onto Westbrook (28.5 points on 52.3 percent shooting in the series), but that would present a major problem defending three-time NBA scoring champ Kevin Durant. Marion said he will start the game on Durant again.

Injuries: Thunder – G Eric Maynor (torn right ACL) is out.

Up next: Game 4 – Thunder at Mavs, 6:30 p.m. Saturday

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mavs will not make the drastic move of switching defensive stopper Shawn Marion’s assignment in an attempt to slow down Russell Westbrook.

PODCAST
Senior NBA writer Marc Stein shares his thoughts on Game 3 between the Mavs and Thunder. Who needs to step up for the Mavs to win other than Dirk or Jet? Listen

At least, not at the beginning of Game 3.

“I’ve got the same assignment,” Marion said before Thursday morning’s shootaround. “It ain’t changed.”

That means Marion will continue to defend three-time NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant, who has averaged 25.5 points but shot only 31.4 percent from the floor as the Thunder opened a 2-0 lead in the series. Delonte West has opened the first two games defending Westbrook.

Coach Rick Carlisle left open the possibility of using Marion on Westbrook (28.5 points on 52.3 percent shooting) at points in the game.

“Possibly, but look, you’re talking about taking your best defender and a guy that was a real candidate for Defensive Player of the Year off of a guy off of a guy that he’s doing a great job on to put him on another guy,” Carlisle said. “We can look at it at different times of the games, but let’s not forget how great Durant is. He’s in the MVP conversation.

“They present a lot of problems, and we’re looking at solutions.”

DALLAS – Oklahoma City’s four best players are all younger than Rodrigue Beaubois.

That fact puts into perspective just how much room the Thunder have to grow if the core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka sticks together. And it indicates just how unlikely it is that Roddy B. ever develops into the star the Mavs once expected him to be.

At this point, it’s probably time to stop talking about Beaubois’ potential.

“Roddy’s made a lot of improvement this year,” coach Rick Carlisle said, “so I’m not sure what you’re suggesting.”

I’m suggesting that, in his third season, Beaubois is a player who has stepped foot on the court for a grand total of five minutes so far this series. If the Mavs aren’t ready to rely on him now, why believe he’ll ever be anything better than a role player?

Carlisle countered by saying that Beaubois “did OK when he was in there,” adding that the Mavs cut into the Thunder’s lead with Beaubois on the floor. Sorry, but it’s a stretch to believe that had much to do with the missed field goal and foul that were the only stats he registered while Dirk Nowitzki was dominating in that second-quarter stretch.

Beaubois, touted on billboards put up by the team last year as a superstar in the making, shouldn’t be considered a kid who needs to be coddled. He’s seven months older than Durant, a three-time NBA scoring champion. He’s 10 months older than Westbrook, a two-time All-Star who has been the best player in this series. He’s 18 months older than Harden, an easy selection for Sixth Man of the Year. And he’s 19 months older than Ibaka, who finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Meanwhile, Beaubois averaged 8.9 points, 2.9 assists and 2.8 rebounds while bouncing in and out of the rotation. There were brief flashes of brilliance, usually against lottery-bound teams, but never enough sustained success to provide any realistic hope that he can be a future foundation piece.

“I don’t look at the situation quite the same way you do,” Carlisle said. “I like the progress that Roddy’s made, and when he has opportunities in this series, he’s got to give us what he can give us in terms of his quickness, his energy off the bench. His length is something that’s a positive factor for us. We want him to be aggressive and play his game.”

Beaubois has to get off the bench first, and that only happened once in the first two games of the series. That’s a far cry from what the Mavs expected when Mark Cuban declared a couple of years ago that the kid was close to untradeable.

And his age isn’t an excuse, as evidenced by the young bucks beating the Mavs.

DALLAS -- The Oklahoma City Thunder's ultra-dynamic All-Star duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook raised their shooting percentages this season to career highs.

Durant hit for 49.6 percent; Westbrook for 45.7. In seizing a 2-0 first-round series lead over the Dallas Mavericks, Durant has stumbled to 34.1 percent; Westbrook has rocketed to 52.3.

An explanation?

There's one: The Matrix.

Mavs small forward Shawn Marion is again applying defensive clamps to one of the league's top scorers -- in fact, the No. 1 scorer the past three seasons. The 6-foot-7 Marion might give up four good inches to the incredibly long-limbed Durant, and a decade-plus on the birth certificate, but there's nothing old about the game Marion is delivering in this series.

He has been so good in forcing Durant into 15-of-44 shooting -- which to Marion's frustration includes, as he put it, the "tough-ass shot, lucky bounce" Game 1 winner that overshadowed Durant's 10-of-27 night -- that Mavs coach Rick Carlisle hasn't ruled out shifting Marion at times onto the explosive Westbrook during Thursday's Game 3 in Dallas.

Read the full story here.

DALLAS – For the most part, the Mavericks have done a decent job executing their defensive strategy on Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook.

He’s lit them up anyway, averaging 28.5 points on 52.3 percent shooting in the first two games of this series.

The question now is whether the Mavs make significant strategic adjustments or just hope Westbrook stops making so many midrange jump shots.

According to NBA.com’s advanced statistics, Westbrook is 14-of-26 on midrange jumpers in the series and only 5-of-11 on shots from inside the restricted area. By comparison, Westbrook shot 41.4 percent from midrange and 58.6 percent from inside the restricted area during the regular season, attempting virtually the same amount of shots from the two zones.

“You’ve got to pick your poison,” said Delonte West, who has started both games on Westbrook. “He’s got an explosive first step. He’s not an All-Star for no reason. Based on the past, you can live with him shooting contested jump shots. What you don’t want to do is open up the lane and give him driving lanes where he can score, pass, get fouled and get some momentum plays.

“I’ll guess we’ll live and die with contested jump shots.”

The problem is it’s tough for a guard like West or Jason Kidd to contest Westbrook’s shot because the freakishly athletic 23-year-old gets up so high. As expected, coach Rick Carlisle is playing any potential adjustments close to the vest, but he acknowledges that one possibility is using 6-foot-7 defensive stopper Shawn Marion on Westbrook more often.

That, of course, would open up a whole other set of problems with NBA scoring leader Kevin Durant, who the Mavs have held to 34.1 percent shooting in the series with Marion doing most of the dirty work.

Would Vince Carter start instead of West and defend Durant? Stick with the same lineup and ask Kidd to guard a superstar who is listed at 5 inches taller and 16 years younger?

“We’ve got to find a way to make him a little more uncomfortable,” Dirk Nowitzki said. “He’s just dribbling up and raising up at the foul line. There’s nothing you can do, because if you guard him with smaller guys – with Kidd or West – he jumps like 40 inches on his shot and you can’t touch it. He just raises up over them and gets it in.

“Yeah, it’s tough. But we’ve got to do a better job of making him a little uncomfortable.”

And hope Westbrook reverts to form from midrange.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle has a decision to make as to how to defend Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook, who has averaged 28.5 points on 52.3 percent shooting in the first two games.

None of the Mavs' guards, including Delonte West, is having much luck and the zone isn't stopping him either.

"He’s playing great, he’s playing great," Carlisle said. "And you know we started off the game double-teaming him, he split us and broke us down and got to the rim and took us out of that, so it’s been tough. He’s hitting shots and we’ve done a decent job of keeping him out of the paint, but he’s stroking it. So we’re going to have to go back to the drawing board and cook something else up."

Could the next recipe include defensive player of the year candidate Shawn Marion moving over to defend Westbrook and leave the cold-shooting Kevin Durant to someone else? The 6-foot-7 Marion would have the height advantage on the 6-3 Westbrook and might have better luck defending the mid-range jumper that Westbrook is so quick to pull up and launch.

"Look, there are options," Carlisle said. "There are different things. We’re in and out of zone, sometimes you’ve got different guys guarding different guys, that’s how zone is, it’s kind of a scramble. Look, we’ll look at it. We come away from these two games disappointed but not dismayed and you tip your hat to the fact that they have made some big-time plays."

It probably doesn't make much sense to take Marion off Durant for one simple reason: Who do you put on a 6-foot-11 freak of nature?

But with two days to think of something before Thursday's critical Game 3, the Mavs are desperate for answers. Marion said he'd be ready if that's the direction Carlisle wants to go.

"I’m going to make him take a tough shot the best way I can," Marion said. "I feel like I can use my lift a little bit when he’s shooting it I can get in the way of his shot. Everybody else he’s jumping so high on his shot, it’s like he’s by himself up there."

OKLAHOMA CITY – You know the playoffs are officially under way when Dirk Nowitzki is publicly pushing Jason Terry.

PODCAST
Coop and Nate break down the Mavs' Game 1 loss and discuss what needs to happen in Game 2 for the Mavs to equalize the series. Listen

Coach Rick Carlisle took the blame for a red hot Terry rarely touching the ball in the fourth quarter of Game 1, when Russell Westbrook smothered the Mavs’ sixth man. Over the last two days, the Mavs have worked on ways to free up Terry if Westbrook aggressively denies him the ball.

However, Nowitzki said it’s ultimately Terry’s responsibility to figure out a way to get the ball in his hands.

“He’s got to get open,” Nowitzki said. “We’ve got to get him open. He’s got to get himself open. He didn’t get a catch the last couple of minutes, and that obviously can’t happen. He’s one of our closers and we need him to close.

“You’ve got to give Westbrook credit. He followed his footsteps all the way to halfcourt if he had to, but still, I mean, we’re NBA players. We’ve got to get open in the halfcourt. I think we’ve got to set a couple of screens or he’s got to move around a little bit more, but we’ve got to get him involved in the fourth quarter. That’s for sure.”

OKLAHOMA CITY – One of the cardinal sins in playoff basketball is committing a soft foul around the basket.

The Mavericks did that three times in the fourth quarter. Brandan Wright was benched after his pat on Russell Westbrook’s back led to an easy and-1 layup. Serge Ibaka had a couple of three-point plays during the Thunder’s rally from a seven-point deficit in the final 2:31, converting a layup despite an Ian Mahinmi foul and dunking on Dirk Nowitzki despite a slap on the wrist.

“We fouled, but we didn’t foul smart,” Nowitzki said. “That’s obviously not playoff basketball. We’ve got to wrap those guys up and make them earn it at the line. That’s what playoff basketball is about – both teams competing at the highest level and making hard, physical plays.”

Added coach Rick Carlisle: “In those situations, we can’t be in a touch-foul mode. We’ve got to either back off or we’ve got to take a hard foul and make them earn two free throws. That’s just playoff basketball.”

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - For the most part, the Dallas Mavericks controlled the first 45 minutes of Game 1 against Oklahoma City.

Then the Mavs fell apart, blowing a seven-point lead in the final 2:33.

Perhaps we shouldn't have been surprised because this has been a season-long trend for Dallas, especially against Oklahoma City. Dallas has lost three games in Oklahoma City this season by a total of seven points.

FYI: The Mavs are 10-14 in games decided by fewer than five points and 7-8 in games decided by three points or fewer.

So their 99-98 loss in Game 1 can't really be construed as a fluke. It's actually representative of how they've played this season.

After all, the Mavs are 13-21 on the road this season. Dirk Nowitzki, the game's best closer, had a pair of turnovers in the final 90 seconds of Game 1 and gave up a three-point play on a dunk to Serge Ibaka.

It's difficult for the Mavs to win on nights Nowitzki falters at winning time.

If the Mavs are going to win Game 2 and return to Dallas with the coveted split in this series, they must do a better job of closing games. It starts with Nowitzki playing his best basketball in the fourth quarter.

Series: Oklahoma City Thunder leads, 1-0

When: 8:30 p.m.

Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena

TV: TNT/TXA 21

Radio: ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1270 AM (Spanish)

What to watch: Free Throws. Rick Carlisle doesn't want Oklahoma City's players, Kendrick Perkins in particular, manhandling Nowitzki. Oklahoma City averaged 32.5 free throws against the Mavs during the regular season but shot just 20 in the opener. Dallas shot 25 free throws, including 10 by Nowitzki, but Carlisle believes the Mavs should've made more trips to the free throw line. The Mavs will be pleased if they can keep the free throw differential under 10 because the Thunder are so adept at getting to the free throw line.

Key matchup: Jason Terry vs. Russell Westbrook
Terry won't like this, but Westbrook shut him down in the fourth quarter of Game 1. Terry, who made eight of nine shots in the first three quarters, missed his only shot attempt of the fourth quarter. Terry would say his lack of opportunities had more to do with the offense stagnating and Rick Carlisle failing to figure out how to get him the ball. Westbrook -- bigger, stronger and faster than Terry -- denied the veteran guard the ball all over the court. Terry insisted that won't happen again and vowed to get his usual touches in the fourth quarter when he and Nowitzki have traditionally used an excellent two-man game to close out wins.

Injuries: Thunder -- G Eric Maynor (torn right ACL) is out.

Up next: Game 3 -- Thunder at Mavs, 8:30 p.m. Thursday

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Three of Kevin Durant's four assists went to Serge Ibaka for dunks. Russell Westbrook added a dish for an Ibaka dunk, too.

Dribble penetrations led to the Mavericks' bigs being forced to help and leaving the 6-foot-10 Ibaka to catch and throw down. Of his season-high 22 points in Oklahoma City's Game 1, 12 came via the dunk.

"That's just because of the breakdown at the beginning of the play," said Mavs guard Jason Kidd. "We've got to limit our mistakes at the beginning because that's where he did get a lot of the finishes is because of the breakdown at the beginning. So if we can limit that then hopefully he doesn't get as many in Game 1."

It puts a lot of pressure on the Mavs' defenders, all at least 10 years older than OKC's three playmakers and not as quick -- with the exception of Delonte West -- to stay in front of their man and not allow penetration into the lane. Once Durant, Westbrook or James Harden get by their man, it forces the Mavs' forwards or center to come off Ibaka to prevent the layup.

Delonte West said after Monday morning's shootaround that he is back to full strength after playing through Game 1 with a stomach bug that sapped his energy. So he should be able to give Westbrook (28 points, five assists in Game 1) a better fight. Kidd, Vince Carter and Shawn Marion will have to do a better job keeping the Thunder out on the perimeter and not in the paint.

"It's help defense and we just have to stay in front our man from the beginning," Carter said.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Delonte West struggled to get through 27 minutes of action in Saturday's Game 1, taking his fair share of lumps trying to guard Russell Westbrook and never really getting involved in the offense.

Later that night, he expelled the rest of whatever else had caused his stomach to turn Friday night and Saturday morning -- and then tweeted out a photo to prove it.

"I woke up (Sunday), my headache was pretty much gone," West said. "Now I'm trying to get some fluids down. I’ll be ready to go (today).

His status for Game 1 was uncertain, but despite still not feeling well at game time and unable to hold much down, West suited up and was in the starting lineup. Westbrook then ran circles around him, scoring 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the first quarter with a deadly jumper on his way to a game-high 28 points.

The Mavs will need West at his feistiest to help contain Westbrook, who destroyed Dallas with his mid-range game. West simply could not keep up.

"That was the biggest thing," West said. "It wasn’t so much the nausea, I didn’t have the energy and I couldn’t really get no fluids down so I was kind of battling that, that uphill battle, but like I said, I feel real rested and I’m looking forward to being 100 percent."

During the regular season, Westbrook averaged 22.8 points, 3.5 assists and 6.0 rebounds. The Mavs, though, have been able to keep his shooting percentage to 39.2 percent from the floor and 30.8 percent from beyond the arc. That didn't happen in Game 1 when Westbrook hit 13-of-23 shots and made one of his two 3-point attempts.

"He poses a lot of havoc for any defense," West said. "He’s able to score the basketball, but it’s a team effort. One guy can't hold a guy like that. Like I said, we’re going to have to collectively do a better job of limiting his easy shots."