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Thunder-Mavericks Preview

Jan 14, 2010 - 7:26 PM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Oklahoma City (21-17) at Dallas (25-13), 8:30 p.m. EDT

The Dallas Mavericks are having trouble defensively, but that's rarely been the case when they've faced Kevin Durant.

The Mavericks look to avoid an 0-3 homestand Friday night when they try to continue their mastery of Durant and the Thunder, who have lost eight straight in Dallas.

Dallas (25-13) ranks third in the West in holding opponents to a 44.8 shooting percentage. That figure has ballooned to 53.1 percent in the last five games as the Mavericks have given up an average of 107.6 points.

"Our problems are at the defensive end," coach Rick Carlisle said. "That's the biggest thing we've got to work to resolve. We've shown we can be a good defensive team. We've just got to keep with it."

Their defense hasn't been lacking against Durant, who is averaging a career-high 28.9 points this season. Durant has averaged 13.7 points against Dallas for his lowest mark against any opponent.

The Mavs have won eight straight at home against the Thunder franchise since a 107-102 loss Dec. 9, 2004. They've also won 16 of 18 overall in the series, including a 100-86 road win Dec. 16 behind Dirk Nowitzki's 35 points and 11 boards.

Durant matched a season low with 12 points on 4-of-18 shooting in the loss. His 34.7 career field-goal percentage versus Dallas also represents his worst mark against any foe.

Dallas owns the second-best record in the West, but has not been good at the American Airlines Center. The Mavericks' 12-7 home record is the worst among Southwest Division teams and 10th-best in the conference.

The Mavs had not lost consecutive games at home before falling 111-93 to Utah on Saturday and 100-95 to the Lakers on Wednesday. They forced a total of just 16 turnovers - their season average is 14.3 per game.

"I don't know what's going on but we've got to figure it out," Nowitzki said. "The amazing thing is, we're still second in the West, right there with everybody else. It's not time to hang our heads."

Nowitzki became the 34th player in league history to score 20,000 points Wednesday and scored 15 of his 30 in the fourth quarter. His 3-pointer tied the game at 95 with 42.5 seconds left before Kobe Bryant's basket put the Lakers ahead for good.

Durant is averaging 32.7 points over his last 12 games, and 35.0 in the last three. He scored 35 in Wednesday's 109-108 overtime loss to San Antonio, including a basket that put the Thunder up by two with 1:28 left.

Oklahoma City (21-17) was unable to get him the ball on its last two possessions and didn't score again.

"I think we executed down the stretch in the fourth quarter, got stops when we needed them and made it a game," Durant said. "But you know what? They scored more points than we did."

The Thunder trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half before rallying to force overtime. They completed a 2-2 homestand.

"It was hard to come back down from, I think it was 18 or 19 points," coach Scott Brooks said. "But we battled back, we fought. We played some good basketball and they made one more shot down the stretch at the end."