DALLAS - Suffering their second lopsided loss through three games of a first-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder following Thursday’s 131-102 defeat at home, the Dallas Mavericks will try to respond once again Saturday night.The Mavericks (1-2) fell to a 108-70 defeat on the road in Game 1 of the series, but they bounced back in the second outing with a gritty 85-84 victory two nights later. They now find themselves in the same position Saturday night, looking to draw even with a victory before the series shifts back to Oklahoma City. And after a lackluster performance in front of their hometown fans, the Mavs will try to put together a more well-rounded effort in a pivotal Game 4.”Well, it’s just another chance to respond, and we said this after Game 1,” Mavs swingman Wesley Matthews explained following the team’s Saturday morning walkthrough. “It doesn’t matter if you get your (tail) kicked, you lose by 40 or you lose by one, it still goes down as one loss. We’ve got some things we’ve got to correct, and it’s not technical stuff. It’s just us. You know, we went in a little relaxed, felt the comfort of home, or whatever. But in Game 2 we came out like crazed dogs, like this was the most important thing in the world, and we didn’t really necessarily respond like that in Game 3.”The Mavericks also failed to keep the Thunder’s two superstars under wraps in Game 3 as both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook had their way against the Dallas defense.Durant, the NBA’s No. 3 scorer this season and a former MVP, led the Thunder (1-1) to the win by scoring a game-high 34 points while hitting 11 of 25 from the field, bouncing back after a 7-of-33 shooting night in Game 2. Simultaneously, Westbrook scored 26 points and dished out 15 assists as the Thunder connected on 57.7 percent as a team for the game. The Mavs will now try to corral the two perennial All-Stars in order to even the series. But according to Mavs coach Rick Carlisle, that may be easier said than done.”We’ve just got to be persistent, and we’ve got to try to make it as hard as possible,” Carlisle said. “You know, they’re both superstar players. You’ve got one guy who’s probably as good a scorer as this league will ever see in Durant and you’ve got another guy who led the league in triple-doubles this year, so they do everything. So, you know, we’ve just got to make it hard. It’s not an easy job, but it’s something that we have to do collectively.”Note: The sixth-seeded Mavericks will now return to their home floor on Saturday night, hosting the No. 3-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4. Oklahoma City leads the series 2-1. Game 4 will air nationally on ESPN. It will also air locally on TXA 21, 103.3 FM ESPN and in Spanish on 1540 AM ESPN Deportes at 7 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by visiting Mavs.com, or by calling (214) 747-MAVS.The Mavericks’ first-round playoff schedule is as follows:Game 4 â Saturday, April 23Oklahoma City at Dallas at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN/TXA 21*Game 5 - Monday, April 25Dallas at Oklahoma City 7 p.m. CT on TNT/TXA 21*Game 6 - Thursday, April 28Oklahoma City at Dallas TBD on TBD/TXA21*Game 7 - Saturday, April 30Dallas at Oklahoma City TBD on TNT/TXA21
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