How Dallas pulled off the NBA's largest postseason upset in 20 years
The depleted Dallas Mavericks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in Oklahoma City on Monday night, in what’s arguably the biggest single-game upset anyone has ever seen in any sport in their entire life.
Two days prior, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant mutilated Dallas by 38 points, as was expected. Athletically, these two teams are on a completely different level. Three of the four most talented players in the series play for the Thunder, as do two of the five most unstoppable offensive players in the world.
And yet, Dallas still managed to pull off what’s technically accepted as the biggest NBA playoff upset in 20 years. Here’s how they did it:
Mavs were 14-point underdogs, making tonight's win the biggest upset in an NBA postseason game in last 20 seasons. pic.twitter.com/KCsnsP72c6
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 19, 2016
First and foremost, Dallas was lucky. Really, really lucky. From Steven Adams’ put back that would’ve won the game had it left his fingers 0.2 seconds sooner, to the Mavs missing nine of their 19 free-throw attempts, to Oklahoma City shooting 35.7 percent on uncontested shot attempts, the moons and stars were aligned for things to get a little weird.
But even more significant than all the above put together: Kevin Durant, one of the most efficient high volume scorers in basketball history, finished 7-for-33—the most misses in a playoff game since Michael Jordan did it in 1997:
Worst FG Pct In Playoff Game - Minimum 30 FGA
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 19, 2016
Shot Clock Era
2016 Kevin Durant 21.2%
1997 Michael Jordan 25.7 %
via @eliassports
Durant on his very uncharacteristic 7-of-33 shooting night: pic.twitter.com/2OuFe2Wc5P
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) April 19, 2016
Westbrook only shot 36.4 percent, while his man on the other end, 31-year-old Ray Felton, had the game of his life: 21 points (on 16 shots) and 11 rebounds in 42 minutes of action. With J.J. Barea sidelined by a groin injury, the Mavericks needed everything they could get from guys like Felton, Deron Williams, Devin Harris and even rookie wing Justin Anderson, who legitimately defended Durant in big spots throughout the game, and looked like anything but a first-year player whenever he had the ball:
Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle deserves some obvious credit. He stuck with three-guard lineups for most of the game, and didn’t care about size disadvantages on the defensive end. Dallas seamlessly switched almost every Durant ball screen, even if it meant putting the 6’1” Felton on him.
The plan was to stay in front of Oklahoma City’s dynamic scorers to prevent wide open shots or driving lanes into the paint that would force help and leave open shooters behind the three-point line. It worked, in large part because Dallas’ Wesley Matthews played like a starving animal.
A little over one year after he tore his Achilles, Matthews put forth the most impressive 3-of-11 playoff performance you'll ever see. He couldn't buy a shot, but it didn't matter.
The Mavericks allowed 86.7 points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor, and Durant missed 10 of 13 shots that were fired up with Matthews in his face (via ESPN):
“He’s a warrior,” coach Rick Carlisle said after Matthews spearheaded the defensive effort against Kevin Durant, the all-NBA scorer who bricked all but seven of his 33 shots from the floor. Durant was 3-of-13 while being defended by Matthews, who gives up at least six inches in the matchup. “Not one individual can slow somebody like that down,” Matthews said. “He’s arguably the best scorer in the league. My team was great behind me, and he was probably missing some shots, some good looks. My offense wasn’t there, but I was going to be damned if I was going to let that lead to an L for us.”
In the end, Durant missed shots he normally makes, but that doesn’t mean they were easy. Dallas was rabid, and contested 83 of Oklahoma City’s 92 shots, per NBA.com. On the other hand, the Thunder only contested 54 of the Mavs’ 82 attempts. Going from these numbers alone, one team "wanted it more" and had a little bit of luck on their side.
That team pulled off an incredible upset and proved, once and for all, that betting against a team that has Carlisle and Dirk Nowitzki on it is one of the dumbest things you can do.
