Mavs pull out incredible OT win to take 3-1 series lead over OKC

OKLAHOMA CITY _ They were like a desperate man hanging on a ledge for dear life, one fingernail away from falling to a horrible ending.

Then, out of nowhere, the Dallas Mavericks discovered a way to pull themselves up. To right all the wrongs they made for the first 43 minutes of Game 4.

In a game that will go down as one of the NBA’s all-time classics, the Mavs stormed back from 15 points down in the final five minutes to eke out a dramatic 112-105 overtime victory over the stunned Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night at the Oklahoma City Arena.

“I can’t remember another comeback like that,’’ said Dirk Nowitzki, who poured in 40 points. “Once we got to (overtime) we had to feel good about ourselves after being down 15 and making all that comeback.

“And we obviously talked about it in timeouts that we’ve got to go for it now. We’re here and this is our ballgame and we’ve got to go for it, so that’s what we talked about.’’

The talk obviously worked as the Mavs rallied and ended regulation play on a splendid 17-2 surge, and then dominated the overtime session to sweep the two playoff games that were played here.

The win enabled the Mavs to assume a commanding 3-1 lead in this best-of-seven Western Conference Finals series. Only eight teams in NBA history have climbed out of a 3-1 hole to win a best-of-seven series.

Dallas can close out the series Wednesday at 8 p.m. and advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in six seasons with a victory at home in Game 5. But before they can get to Game 5, the Mavs know they were extremely fortunate to win Game 4.

Jason Kidd’s gigantic three-point bucket with 40.3 seconds left broke a tie and gave the Mavs a 108-105 lead with 40.23 seconds left in overtime. Russell Westbrook missed a jumper for OKC and Kidd rebounded.

From there, Jason Terry fired in a pair of free throws for a 110-105 lead with 13 ticks left. Kidd then rebounded a missed three-pointer by Kevin Durant, then buried a couple of free throws to close out one of more memorable comebacks for the Mavs in franchise history.

Coach Rick Carlisle said: “It was all about getting stops, and every guy that was in there during that period made big plays, whether they were loose ball plays, big rebounds, big defensive plays, big extra pass plays. And the one thing about this about all year is it’s been a resourceful group.

“They keep believing and we’ve been extremely opportunistic.’’

Maybe, but what transpired Monday took “extremely opportunistic’’ to a new heights.

For the first 43 minutes, the Thunder controlled the game, the boards and were totally hyped up as they appeared well on their way to deadlocking this series at 2-2.

The Thunder had the momentum, the crowd and the energy in the building all behind them after Kevin Durant buried a 3-point basket to increase their lead to 99-84 with 5:06 left. But instead of folding their tent and being satisfied with a split of the two games in Oklahoma City, the Mavs simply rolled up their sleeves, put their hard hats on and went to work.

As if someone flipped a magical switch, suddenly the Mavs could do no wrong and the Thunder couldn’t do anything right. It was a weird reversal of fortunes that worked in favor of the Mavs, who are a perfect 5-0 in this building this season.

“Well it goes without saying that it was a tough loss to accept, but it is a loss,’’ OKC coach Scott Brooks said. “We struggled a little bit down the stretch with execution and throughout the game we struggled with turnovers.

“It’s unfortunate that we didn’t come out with the win. Dallas outplayed us down the stretch.’’

OKC completely bruised the Mavs on the boards while winning the rebounding battle by a huge 55-33 margin. The Thunder also shot 46.7 percent from the field to 43.2 percent for the Mavs.

But the Mavs smothered the Thunder into turning the ball over 26 times, which Dallas turned into 26 points. It all translates into the Mavs being one win away from sending the Thunder to a summer vacation.

“I think they’re going to come back in Game 5 and (will be) going to throw everything at us,’’ said Nowitzki, who converted 12-of-20 shots. “Obviously they’re desperate now.

“But they showed they can win on our home court. They stole Game 2 there, so they’re going to be confident and we’ve got to take it.’’

Terry followed Nowitzki in the Mavs’ scoring parade with 20 points, Kidd had 17 points, seven assists and four steals, and Brendan Haywood added nine points.

Durant paced OKC with 29 points and 15 rebounds. But he was just 9-o-22 from the field and turned the ball over nine times.

Also for the Thunder, Russell Westbrook had 19 points (7-of-22 shots), eight rebounds, eight assists and six turnovers, Serge Ibaka finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Thabo Sefolosha and James Harden each tallied 12 points.

The Thunder hit their first nine shots and led 18-8 early on. But the Mavs kept hanging around and were within 59-54 at the half, thanks to 22 first-half points from Nowitzki.

OKC would widen the gap again, only to see the Mavs put on a run for the ages in the final 5:06 of regulation.

“We are not going to give up,’’ said center Tyson Chandler, who had five points and eight rebounds. “No matter what kind of run they make, no matter how many points we were down, we just have been optimistic about the situation.’’