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Durant's buzzer-beater keeps Dallas winless

Dec 30, 2011 - 8:11 AM Oklahoma City, OK (Sports Network) - Kevin Durant kept his long right arm high in the air as the ball fell through the net and the clocked ticked down to all zeroes.

That's how you make up for a missed assignment.

Durant buried a long three-pointer at the buzzer, lifting the Oklahoma City Thunder to a thrilling 104-102 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night to keep the reigning NBA champions winless.

Durant's game-winning shot off an inbounds pass on the right side came after he left Vince Carter open for a three-pointer at the point to give Dallas a 102-101 lead with 1.4 seconds left.

But an Oklahoma City timeout was as long as Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs had to think about getting their first win of the season. Instead, they became the first NBA champs to start 0-3 since the 1969-70 Boston Celtics.

And the 4-0 Thunder, who shot 58.7 percent, got to deliver a heartbreaker to the team that knocked them off in the Western Conference Finals last season. They also won a pair of preseason games against the Mavs and will face them again on Monday -- their fourth meeting in 16 days.

Durant scored 30 points with 11 rebounds and Russell Westbrook had 16 points one day after the teammates were reported to have gotten into a shouting match on the sideline during a 98-95 win over Memphis. Serge Ibaka also scored 16.

"Kevin did leave Vince Carter, so it was nice for him to get redemption," said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. "He came back and hit a big shot."

Nowitzki led the Mavs with 29 points and 10 rebounds, Jason Terry had 16 points off the bench and Delonte West scored 15 in the loss.

Dallas, after home losses to Miami and Denver by a combined 33 points, was playing its first road game of the season.

The Mavs are 0-3 for the first time since 2006-07, when they opened the season with four straight losses before going on to win a franchise-best 67 games.

They began a four-games-in-five-days stretch that will end with Monday's home game against the Thunder.

Dallas was able to overcome a 21-5 run by Oklahoma City that covered the last four minutes of the third quarter and the first three minutes of the fourth.

Ibaka's dunk capped the burst and gave the Thunder an 86-78 lead. Later, a Terry three-pointer put the Mavs back in front, leading to a back-and-forth affair at the end of the game.

When it looked like Nowitzki would take Dallas' final shot, he instead drove to the top of the lane and kicked a pass back to Carter at the top of the arc.

Out of position, Durant charged the shot, but Carter knocked it down. Durant made up for the defensive lapse with a quick turnaround shot at the buzzer, giving the Oklahoma City franchise its first 4-0 start since 2002.

Game Notes

The Mavs led by as many as 12 points in the first quarter, but Oklahoma City climbed to within 29-28 heading into the second. The Thunder carried a 56-52 lead into halftime and were ahead 78-76 going into the fourth quarter...The Mavs shot 42.2 percent.