DALLAS — Every ending marks the start of a new beginning. In a span of 11 months, the Mavericks went from singing “We are the champions” on the balcony at the American Airlines Center to walking off their home floor, heads down in disappointment, after being swept in the first round of the Playoffs to the Oklahoma City Thunder. With the team having more than a handful of free agents, including core pieces such as Jason Kidd and Jason Terry, it appears that it is time to build the bridge to the next era for the Dallas Mavericks.

The latest era for the Mavericks has lasted for 12 years, coinciding with Mark Cuban becoming the new owner for the franchise. It has seen its fair share of ups and downs, but the organization has accomplished many wonderful things during that 12-year period.

* NBA championship in 2011, team’s first championship

* Two NBA Finals appearances (2006 and 2011)

* Three appearances in the Western Conference Finals (2003, 2006, 2011)

* 12 consecutive appearances in the Playoffs

* 67 wins during the 2006-07 season, franchise-best mark for wins in a season

* 11 consecutive 50-win seasons (or the equivalent of a .600 winning percentage) all with Dirk Nowitzki.

Compressed season or not, this year’s team did not have the same look as previous year’s team. This season’s team finished 36-30 (.545), the first time since the 1999-2000 season that it did not reach at least a .600 winning percentage. They finished that season with a 40-42 record. Everyone in the franchise understands that this coming summer provides an opportunity where they can fix a lot of what ailed them during this season. This year’s free agency window also gives the franchise a chance to add a big name free agent as the team will have salary cap space for the first time in the Mark Cuban era. “I look at this summer for this franchise as a summer of opportunity and excitement,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “And I don’t think anybody should look at it any differently.”

As coach Carlisle’s contract expired at the end of this year, the Mavericks had to handle their business and ensure that he would be back in the fold. “He likes us, we like him and those situations generally get worked out,” Donnie Nelson, president of basketball operations, said during the team’s exit interviews. “Rick’s not going anywhere.” It was interesting to see that opinions were starting to be formulated that led to some doubting that Carlisle would be retained. Making an opinion based off the reactions of players after a disappointing exit from the Playoffs wouldn’t give the true pulse of Carlisle’s status based on the fact that emotions are running high.

As days continued to pass by, many fans and analysts wondered why nothing was getting done as Mark Cuban remained silent after the Mavericks exited from the playoffs. Carlisle is one of only three current coaches, with Greg Popovich and Doc Rivers, who has led his team to a championship. He has that going for him, yet the waiting game continued. Why? Again, why make a move immediately? The philosophy of the front office has always been that they would refuse making any kind of move based on emotion. The dust was able to settle and the expected move was made. “We are excited that Rick will be back with the Mavericks for at least the next four years,” Cuban said via press release. “He is a proven winner, a great teacher and a coach that will help the Mavericks improve as a team and as an organization.”

Another reason, other than the proven track record, that it could be assumed that Carlisle would be back is based on the fact he’s a known commodity to Cuban. Since Cuban took ownership of the team, the primary moves he’s made in terms of head coaches have been promoting Avery Johnson from assistant coach to head coach and signing Rick Carlisle. Cuban was able to observe Avery and his coaching ways as he would handle practice duties while he was still an assistant. That made the move to promote him up to head coach a no brainer. Bringing Carlisle into the fold was the first major move where Cuban had to really dig in deep and go outside of his circle in order to find a new leader for the franchise. The move obviously paid off as Carlisle led the team to the promise land, thus making the move to retain Carlisle another no brainer.

The Mavericks now have their coach in the fold as they move into arguably the biggest summer in the franchise’s history. As the series against the Thunder showed, the Mavericks will need more offensive weapons that can create scoring opportunities for themselves. “You can’t have enough great players,” Carlisle said during the team’s exit interviews. They will have monetary assets to have the ability to reload the roster and give Dirk more weapons. Carlisle continued, “We’ve got an extremely attractive situation here…This is a franchise that’s always going to be in the hunt.”

It truly is time to bridge the gap to the next era. Dirk, while still being an elite scoring weapon, is getting older in age. The Mavericks will likely have a lot of new faces in the mix next season with the hope of one or more of the players being one who can take the keys to the castle and allow Dirk to become a co-star. Even with cap space, free agency is not the only route for potential success for the Mavericks. They will have the 17th pick in a very deep draft this summer. Extra cap space will also allow them to absorb contracts if they feel it is a necessary move in order to acquire a high caliber player. Flexibility has been the goal when it comes to this summer and the Mavericks will have it.

This is the opportunity for the franchise to create the next generation of the Mavericks and change the look of the team. “I know Mark and Donnie have taken very personally the challenge of getting more high level players in here,” Carlisle said. “We’re going to beat the bushes to do it.” Resiliency has been a major key to the Mavericks’ success. They will need it as they handle this critical time. The franchise has ensured that Rick Carlisle will be a major part of the process. In this critical time for the Mavericks, the first decision made was the correct one.

Stay connected with Dallas Mavericks reporter Bryan Gutierrez by following him on Twitter.

Episode 59 for the Mavericks Outsider Report can be downloaded here.

It’s time to look back, and start looking forward. As brief as the title defense was, it warrants some analysis before we go full-on into what promises to be an active summer for the Mavericks. TV Voice of the Mavericks Mark Followill jumps on to talk about where the Mavericks fell short this year and how they might start to approach the offseason. The playoffs keep trucking along without the Mavericks, which means lots of entertaining nuggets from around the league presented themselves this week, and we wrap up the 2011-2012 season by grading the roster.

Intro – Recapping the Sweep
19:40 – Bonus-Sized Post-Mortem w/ Mark Followill
42:00 – More Bonus-Sized Looking Forward w/ Mark Followill
1:13:20 – NBA Nuggets (Caron Butler truly is Tuff Juice, NBA Age Limit, Most Improved Player, Brooklyn Nets Logo, Chicago Bulls Malaise, Denver Stalker, Greg Oden)
1:40:55 – Grading the Mavericks

With the Mavericks officially in offseason mode, our next show broadcast is to be determined. When you’re able to listen live, you can catch the show via Ustream. For future reference, you can catch the live stream here and you’ll be able to download the podcast, as always, if you’re unable to listen live at the link listened above or on iTunes. If you’re an iTunes fiend, be sure to subscribe and the episodes will be ready and waiting for you. Also, you can always email us your thoughts and questions at MavericksOutsiderReport@gmail.com

Stay connected with Dallas Mavericks reporter Bryan Gutierrez by following him on Twitter.

DALLAS — The end has come for the Mavericks’ championship defense as they suffered a 103-97 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. With the loss, the Mavericks were swept in the best-of-seven series. In a series that saw Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook go off against the Mavericks, James Harden sealed the fate for the Mavericks in Game 4. The Thunder’s sixth man had 15 of his 29 points and three of his five assists in the fourth quarter.

According to ESPN Stats and Information, Dallas became the fifth defending champion not to win a playoff game, second defending champion to be swept in 1st round best-of-seven series, joining the 2007 Miami Heat. “We walk away from this very disappointed, but knowing that the better team won,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said after the loss.

The loss marked the first time Dirk Nowitzki has been on a team that has been swept in the Playoffs. Nowitzki had his 45th career 30-point scoring effort in the playoffs as he scored 34 points, the most he scored versus the Thunder in the series, in 41 minutes of action. On a night where he went 13-of-13 from the free throw line, his sixth made free throw at the 1:11 mark of the third quarter made him the eighth player in NBA history with 1,000 free throws made. Kobe Bryant – 1,261 – is the only active player with more free thows made in the postseason than Nowitzki – 1,007. Despite the strong effort in the loss, Dirk established the thing that held the team back for a majority of the season. “”We just weren’t consistent enough throughout the year to be really be an elite team this year,” Nowitzki said after the loss.

Consistency was clearly lacking from the field as the Mavericks shooting proficiency abandoned them against the Thunder. Oklahoma City shot 46.7 percent from the field during the four-game series while Dallas shot only 39.1 percent from the field.

The Mavericks will have a lot of questions to answer in the offseason as they have six free agents (Delonte West, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Ian Mahinmi, Brian Cardinal and Yi Jianlian) heading into the summer. The team is in this spot as Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson did not sign their free agents after winning the championship, due to the major restrictions of the newly-minted collective bargaining agreement. “If you want to nail me for something, I’ll be the first to admit that it was a huge [expletive] that I didn’t fight for the new [collective bargaining agreement] harder,” Cuban said before Game 4 of the series. “I said it before, I’ll say it again. It put us and other teams in a bad spot, and it was an overnight handshake deal that I should have fought harder. I’m the first to say that.

“That was my mistake, because once that thing passed, our hands were tied in a lot of respects. But within that, we did the best we could.”

With visions of free agency coming sooner than expected, Nowitzki voiced his opinion on what the team will need if they want to make another trip to the Finals. “If you want to be an elite team in this league right now, you have to have two to three guys that can go off at any time.” The team’s shooting percentage during the series with the Thunder shows that they had moments of slippage against the Thunder. The series also showed that the Thunder had the ability to come in waves with the likes of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden.

The Mavericks were looking to become the first team to come back from a 3-0 deficit, at worst become the fourth team to force a Game 7. Things just didn’t work out as they had hoped. “To this day, I still think we believe we’re better than the outcome,” Vince Carter said after the loss. “Unfortunately, the outcome is the truth and the reality.” It is the truth and the reality. The Mavericks were able to plant their flag on the championship mountain last year. Dallas will now have to look ahead to an offseason of doubt and uncertainty as they make a quicker-than-expected exit out of the 2012 Playoffs.

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

“Well, you’ve gotta have the wherewithal to hang in and play whistle to whistle for an extended period of time,” Carlisle said Saturday night before taking the court at the American Airlines Center for Game 4. “That’s a broad question, but the truth is it’s four Game 7′s. I’ve been in several Game 7′s, they’re great, and this is another one tonight, even though it’s Game 4.”

The Mavs then looked to back bounce after a 95-79 loss on their home floor Thursday night, attempting to extend their title defense and force the series back to Oklahoma City. But after the Mavs built up a 13-point lead in the third quarter, the Thunder (4-0) would stage a furious rally. And with a 35-16 fourth quarter powering the visiting squad, the Mavericks’ season and title reign would come to an end after a 103-97 defeat.

The Mavericks (0-4) are now the first team since the 2007 Miami Heat to win the NBA championship and then get swept out of the playoffs in the first round the following season.

“Just not consistent enough to be an elite team this year,” Mavericks leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki said after the loss.

He added: “We still left it all out there. Had two great shots to steal one in OKC. I mean, this is what it comes down to; if you’re up in both games in OKC, you’ve gotta come up with one, you’ve gotta steal one and then come back here 1-1, and I then think everything is wide open. But we suffered the two heart-breaking losses up there and just really picked a bad time in Game 3, where we really threw up one of our worst games of the season.”

Looking for a spark, Carlisle inserted sixth man Jason Terry into the starting lineup in place of new addition Delonte West, putting the veteran sharpshooter alongside point guard Jason Kidd in the backcourt and the frontline of Shawn Marion, Nowitzki and center Brendan Haywood. But even the veteran first unit couldn’t avoid playing from behind early after a 7-2 start for the Thunder.

Behind Kidd and Marion, the Mavs would settle down and emerge with a 15-14 edge on Kidd’s 3-pointer after seven straight points by the future Hall of Fame lead guard. But after never once leading in Game 3, the Mavericks entered the second quarter down 26-24.

With Thunder center Kendrick Perkins ruled out for the remainder of the game after straining his right hip in the first period, the Mavs looked to take charge in the second stanza. But instead the Thunder would reel off the first four points of the period to open up a seven-point lead.

Still, even after Thunder sixth man James Harden caught fire from the outside, the Mavs battled back to regain the lead behind Marion’s lock-down defense and the offense of Nowitzki and backup big man Ian Mahinmi inside. The two teams then found themselves knotted at 47-all at the half after Nowitzki scored 10 of his 13 first-half points in the period.

Led by Nowitzki’s 5-of-11 shooting, the Mavs stayed in the game despite getting outshot through the two quarters, 51.5 percent to 41.9 percent. The Thunder also overcame nine turnovers with a 21-18 rebounding edge and 20-16 margin in points in the paint.

Back-to-back scores by Nowitzki and Terry would get the Mavericks off to a quick start as the third period got underway. Nowitzki then continued his assault while moving to the outside, draining a three to put the Mavs up 56-50 with 9:00 left in the quarter.

Meanwhile, the Thunder’s frustration would grow as the Mavericks assumed their largest lead of the series, with Russell Westbrook assessed a technical foul call for a slap to Nowitzki’s face. And with Marion suffocating three-time scoring champion Kevin Durant on the defensive end of the floor, the Mavs headed to the final quarter up 81-68.

“Guys fought, it’s 47-47 at halftime and then we got a little lead up to 13. But that evaporated pretty fast,” Kidd admitted.

Harden would again lead the Thunder’s charge in the final period, cutting the Mavs’ lead to single digits. But the Mavs wouldn’t waver, regaining a controlling advantage as West found Terry in the corner for a three to go back up 13.

Again, however, Harden would attack, bringing his team back with a relentless assault on the Dallas defense before Durant’s three over Vince Carter cut the Mavs’ lead just three, 86-83, with 7:27 remaining.

A thunderous slam by Harden then pulled the Thunder within one after a 12-0 OKC run before Durant tied the game at 88-all.

“Being in attack mode,” Harden said of his big fourth period. “[Thunder coach Scott Brooks] put the ball in my hands in the fourth quarter and he told me to make plays, so I was just trying to make plays. And Russell did a great job on the defensive end with a couple of steals in a row and chasing Jason Terry. It was just tremendous.”

“If you look at it, they had a small lineup out there that’s been kind of bothering us all four games,” Nowitzki said of the Thunder’s comeback in the final period. “And all they were doing was spreading the floor with a shooter in the corner, shooter in the corner, shooter on the wing, Harden got the ball and the five man was running up setting the screen-and-roll.”

Nowitzki then tried to settle his team down with an and-1 at the other end. But the Thunder would seize the lead after Westbrook stole the ball from Nowitzki and feed Serge Ibaka for the slam to go up 92-91. Carlisle was then forced to call timeout after Derek Fisher’s lefty score put the Mavs in a 94-91 hole with 4:05 left.

Nowitzki again tried to will his team back in front after falling down by five, drawing Ibaka’s sixth personal foul call with 2:14 on the clock and draining the subsequent free throws to bring the Mavs to within three, 98-95.

But Nowitzki would immediately foul Nick Collison at the other end of the floor and the Thunder big man would provide padding to the Thunder’s lead with two free throws. The Mavs would then go scoreless until Nowitzki’s two free throws with 33.0 ticks left made it a three-point game.

Fittingly, however, it would be Harden that would provide the finishing tough, driving into the heart of the Dallas defense for a score with 10.2 seconds on the clock. The Mavs wouldn’t get any closer in the final seconds.

“Hey, not our year. Take your hat off to them. They’re a good young team, the balls were definitely bouncing their way, but all season long they’ve played well,” Terry explained. “You have to give them credit for everything they did tonight. Great effort by us for three games in this series, just not our time.”

Scoring 15 of his 29 points in the final period, Harden led the Thunder to the victory while hitting 11-of-16 from the field off the bench. Durant added 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting as five Thunder players scored in double figures.

“You know, if you look at all the top teams now, they at least have two or three guys they can just throw the ball to and they do their thing,” Nowitzki explained. “If you look at OKC, who we just lost to, it was either Westbrook in Game 1 and Game 2, then it was Durant last game. Today, they just throw it to Harden and he goes off. So, if you want to be an elite team in the league right now, you have to have two or three guys that can go off at any time. I just thought they had more weapons than us. That was pretty clear.”

Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 34 points on 10-of-25 shooting and 13-for-13 at the foul line. Kidd added 16 points and Terry and Mahimmi were the only other Mavs in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Thunder also finished the game outshooting the Mavs, 52 percent to 41.8 percent, while the teams battled to a 39-all rebounding stalemate. Oklahoma City finished with a 52-28 advantage in points in the paint and 12-5 margin in fast-break points as well.

The Mavs now head into an offseason of uncertainty, starting with the unknown futures of Carlisle, Kidd and Terry, who are all free-agents-to-be.

“I just want to congratulate Oklahoma City on an extremely well-played series and I guess publicly thank our guys for the effort they gave this year,” Carlisle concluded. “We have a group of special people in our locker room, starting with Dirk, J-Kidd, Terry and Marion. These guys have represented really the best of what the league has been about for so long and will continue to do so. These guys have all got a lot left in the tank. These guys are proud warriors. As difficult and disappointing as this is, I can’t express enough of my gratitude, and I know the fans feel the same way. They’re just special people, everybody in the locker room.”

(Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)

Following a 95-79 loss in Game 3 at home on Thursday, the Mavericks will also have to exhibit the heart of a champion in order to seize the fourth showdown of the series in front of the American Airlines Center crowd. And while looking to send the series back to Oklahoma City, the Mavs will try to treat their hometown fans to a much better show.

“Well, we felt the urgency last game and that didn’t work out too good,” sixth man Jason Terry explained. “We’re going in a totally different direction tonight and we’re feeling like if we come out here and play our game the way we know we can, we’ve got a great chance to win. I don’t know what happened last game. Looked at the film and I still don’t know what happened. So, give them credit, man. They played well.”

“We’re ready to play and we’re gonna play better than we did last game,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle added. “We know they’re gonna play well. We’ve gotta make them play not as well as us.”

The coach admits, however, that they may be easier said than done, after three-time scoring champion Kevin Durant led the Thunder attack to a lopsided victory on the Mavs’ home floor following two tightly-contested games to begin the series. And after Durant poured in a 31-point effort on 11-of-15 shooting, helping OKC’s 42.4 percent from the field better Dallas’ 34.2 percent, Carlisle acknowledges that things must go differently in the Mavericks’ favor if they hope to continue their title defense.

“It’s not about tweaking this or that, it’s about playing better and playing a better overall game. And that’s what we’re gonna do,” Carlisle explained. “We need our best team performance. I’m not big on putting it on certain individual guys and one guy’s gotta score this many points or get this many rebounds. Hey, we’ve gotta be a team. We’ve gotta be a true team and we’ve gotta pick up our level from last game. Our effort was good, our game was not where it needed to be.

“We’re a team that likes playing basketball,” he added. “We like playing basketball games and we want to keep playing. So, we’re motivated for all the right reasons, and we’re gonna come out and fight our [tails] off.”

Note: The Mavericks will now try to stave off elimination on Saturday night when the series continues with Game 4 taking place at the American Airlines Center, airing locally on TXA 21 and nationally on TNT at 6:30 p.m. CT. No team in NBA history has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit to win a series.

WEAR BLUE – Wear it…or we’ll give you a free T-shirt to wear. All fans will receive an “ALL IN” shirt at their seat when they arrive.

GET TO YOUR SEAT EARLY – All fans coming to the game are encouraged to get to their seats early.

WATCH PARTIES – Watch parties will continue on Monday Night, doors will open one hour before tip off. Watch parties are free, but there is a $5 parking fee in the Platinum Garage. For more info visit mavs.com.

The Mavs-Thunder first-round series schedule is as follows:

Game 4: Thunder at Mavericks; Saturday May 5 at 6:30 p.m. CT on TNT/TXA 21
Game 5: Mavericks at Thunder; Monday May 7 at 7 p.m. CT on TNT/TXA 21
Game 6: Thunder at Mavericks; Thursday May 10 TBA
Game 7: Mavericks at Thunder; Saturday May 12 TBA

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

The reigning titleholders were also in need of a spark coming into Thursday night’s Game 3, after falling into a 0-2 hole following two road losses by a combined four points.

And with the Thunder defense keying in on Mavericks leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki and sixth man Jason Terry through the first two games of the series, coach Rick Carlisle admitted before the third outing that in order for the Mavs to avoid falling into a three-games-to-none situation a collection of unsung heroes from the Dallas roster would need to step up.

“We’re back home and we’re gonna have to have some guys step up, without question,” Carlisle said before the all-important Game 3. “It’s not possible in our particular situation to say, ‘Alright, you right there and you over here, you go for eight points and you go for 12.’ That’s not how our game works. What we have to do is have a conglomeration of guys busting their [tails] together and really getting after it, and the byproduct has gotta be a certain balance. And that’s what we’re striving for.”

Carlisle and the Mavs then stepped on the court in front of a blue-out capacity crowd looking to claim their first win of the series. But instead it would be the Thunder that would collectively thrive, taking a commanding 3-0 series lead after storming to a 95-79 rout on the Mavericks’ home floor.

“I thought we played two really solid games up in OKC, didn’t find a way to steal one and tonight just picked a really bad time to put a stinker out there,” Nowitzki said of the loss.

With an aggressive Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook leading the charge for the Thunder, the Mavs found themselves in an early hole. And after Durant’s back-to-back shots from behind the three-point arc, the Mavericks quickly faced a 9-2 deficit to start the game.

“I mean, our goal was obviously to come out swinging and create energy, get the building going. We just couldn’t get anything going offensively. … It just wasn’t the way we wanted to start the game. But you’ve just gotta give them credit, they threw a heck of a game at us,” Nowitzki added.

Frustration would then set in for the Mavericks with Nowitzki assessed a technical foul call with 7:20 left in the opening period for arguing with officiating. Meanwhile, the Mavs’ defensive pressure on Durant would take a hit as forward Shawn Marion picked up a quick two fouls, before Carlisle was also handed a technical for his unhappiness with the officials.

“There was some distractions there,” Carlisle said after his team seemed rattled by the officiating. “Look, there’s been some frustration with the officials, but we’re not going to make it about the officials.”

A vintage slam by Vince Carter would breathe life into the crowd and the Mavs’ bench, however, before entering the second stanza. Still, the Mavericks faced a 32-26 disadvantage after one thanks to Durant’s 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting and 3-for-4 from deep.

With Nowitzki and point guard Jason Kidd on the bench, the Thunder would regain a double-digit lead as the Mavs’ second unit struggled to withstand the scoring wave by the visiting squad. The two future Hall of Famers then returned to the floor as part of Carlisle’s “small-ball” lineup, just in time to see an 8-0 run to extend the Thunder’s lead to as much as 15.

And despite the duo’s best efforts and 10 points apiece, the Mavs trailed 50-41 at the half after Durant exploded for 21 first-half points on 8-of-10 shooting and 3-for-4 from three.

Led by Durant, the Thunder outshot the Mavs through two quarters, 41.3 percent to 36.8 percent, in addition to a 23-21 rebounding edge. Oklahoma City also held a 16-12 edge in points in the paint and 10-0 advantage in fast-break points while forcing nine Dallas turnovers at the midway mark.

“Offensively, we just had no rhythm,” Terry admitted.

Sticking with the same strategy from Game 2, Carlisle inserted backup big man Ian Mahinmi into the first unit in place of Brendan Haywood at center to begin the third quarter. But after the Mavs charged to within five, Westbrook caught fire to extend the Thunder’s lead back to double figures, with he and Thabo Sefolosha draining back-to-back triples to open up a 66-50 score with 5:53 left in the period.

A third technical foul would then be assessed on Delonte West for an altercation with Thunder guard Derek Fisher, before a 4-of-18 period from the floor ended with the Mavs trailing 75-57.

Threes by Fisher and Daequan Cook would only pad the Thunder’s lead as the visitors began to blow the game open. Then Cook continued to fire from long range, raining in shots from the perimeter as the disadvantage reached its peak at 26. And with the game no longer in doubt, Carlisle pulled his main contributors with 4:52 remaining.

“We were competing pretty good. Our mistakes, we weren’t able to overcome. Their high-level play, we weren’t able to overcome either. It’s really tough to go down 0-3. But we’re going to keep fighting. I thought even though we played bad, we competed well. That’s hard to say when [the lead] is in the 20′s. Until I look at the film and see otherwise, I like the way we’re battling. We’ve just had some bad shooting nights and some horrible decision making. Frankly, a lot of the responsibility is on me; I didn’t have these guys ready to play,” the coach said.

Hitting just 6-of-15 on the night, Nowitzki led the Mavs with 17 points. Kidd added 12 points and Terry was the only other Mav in double figures with 11 points off the bench.

“Nobody really had a good game for us and they took it to us on the other end. Everybody made shots and we just picked a tough time to get nothing going on the offensive end,” Nowitzki explained.

Leading the way for the Thunder was Durant, who scored 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting and 4-of-6 from three to go along with six assists. Westbrook added 20 points on 8-of-19 from the floor while Ibaka, Fisher and James Harden scored 10 points apiece.

Oklahoma City also finished the night outshooting the Mavs from the floor, 42.4 percent to 34.2 percent, despite the Mavs’ 46-45 rebounding edge. The Thunder finished the game 12-of-28 from three as well, compared to Dallas’ 7-for-22 at the other end.

“I mean, you’ve gotta take your hat off to them. They came out and played a [heck] of a game tonight and they kicked our [tails] in every facet of the game,” Terry simply said.

“[Durant] is a great player,” Carlisle said. “He’s the best scorer on the planet. Marion did a phenomenal job for two games, and then tonight Durant picked his level up a little bit. He was making some of those contested shots. He was 11-for-15, and that’s a phenomenal shooting night in a game where they’re spreading the ball around quite a bit. His high-level play and the other guys, the role players, were hitting threes. We didn’t match them; we shot 31 percent (from behind the arc) and they shot 42.9 percent. It’s hard to overcome that.”

The Mavericks will now try to stave off elimination on Saturday night when the series continues on Thursday night with Game 4 taking place at the American Airlines Center, airing locally on TXA 21 and nationally on TNT at 6:30 p.m. CT. No team in NBA history has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit to win a series.

“I’ll make sure that we’re focused on the game at home on Saturday. … We’re disappointed, but we’re going to keep playing,” Carlisle said. “We’ll circle the wagons tomorrow, get the wheels back on the wagon and we’ll get ready for Saturday.”

“I think we come out and come out with pride,” Terry added, “and play hard and execute our game plan. We haven’t done that in this series for 48 minutes and hopefully Saturday night we can get that done.”

WEAR BLUE – Wear it…or we’ll give you a free T-shirt to wear. All fans will receive an “ALL IN” shirt at their seat when they arrive.

GET TO YOUR SEAT EARLY – All fans coming to the game are encouraged to get to their seats early.

WATCH PARTIES – Watch parties will continue on Monday Night, doors will open one hour before tip off. Watch parties are free, but there is a $5 parking fee in the Platinum Garage. For more info visit mavs.com.

The Mavs-Thunder first-round series schedule is as follows:

Game 4: Thunder at Mavericks; Saturday May 5 at 6:30 p.m. CT on TNT/TXA 21
Game 5: Mavericks at Thunder; Monday May 7 at 7 p.m. CT on TNT/TXA 21
Game 6: Thunder at Mavericks; Thursday May 10 TBA
Game 7: Mavericks at Thunder; Saturday May 12 TBA

(Photo by Danny Bollinger/NBAE via Getty Images)

With the Thunder keying in on Terry and 11-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavericks’ star reserve has in effect been taken out of the equation down the stretch of two close ballgames. And with Thunder coach Scott Brooks choosing to have the athletic Russell Westbrook hound Terry at times to keep the sharpshooter from catching fire, the Mavericks will somehow have to either figure out a way to get Terry free or lend the 1-2 combination of he and Nowitzki some helping hands after the star reserve left Wednesday’s practice proclaiming, “Game 3 is Game 7.”

“That’s our attitude, man, it’s all in,” Terry said a day later. “You see the shirts all around the arena. We’re all in, man. You know, they did a great job of protecting their home court and now it’s on us to come out and take care of our business. If you don’t … you will be going home, and that’s not what we’re in it for. Obviously tonight we want to come out and play our game in our arena. Our fans are gonna be fired up. I can tell you that right now.”

After lighting the nets on fire with an 8-of-10 shooting night in the first showdown but missing his lone shot in the final period, Terry came back with 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting in the second outing. But after the Thunder escaped with two narrow victories at home by a combined four points, more may be needed from Terry — or the rest of the supporting cast — in order to help the Mavericks get back in the series with a win at the American Airlines Center on Thursday night.

“We just play hard. I don’t think we’re doing anything special, we’re just playing hard basketball,” Brooks said in regard to limiting Terry. “We focus in on guarding your man and that’s always been our defensive principle; guard your man first, and if you need help, your teammates are there behind you. It’s just the same philosophy. I mean, Terry is probably averaging what he averages in a normal game. We just try to make his touches further out than he wants it. He’s a great player and we expect him to continue to play well.”

“Well, I think we’ve all gotta step up,” point guard Jason Kidd explained after winning the NBA’s Sportsmanship Award previously in the day. “Not just Dirk and JET [Terry] but everyone else around who’s on the floor with those guys, because they are concentrating heavily on those two. And so, other guys have gotta make plays and put the ball in the basket.”

At the other end of the floor, the Mavericks will try to continue to slow down three-time scoring champion Kevin Durant while also hoping to find an answer for Westbrook, who has averaged 28.5 points on 52.3 percent shooting through the first two games.

With Durant just 15-of-44 in the series thanks in large part to forward Shawn Marion’s defense, the Mavs hope the league’s top scorer continues to struggle from the field. Meanwhile, Marion could be asked by Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle to also see time on Westbrook, one day after finishing eighth behind ex-Mav Tyson Chandler for Defensive Player of the Year.

“Right now our game plan is pretty much the same,” Marion explained. “We’re gonna tweak a couple of things as far as the way we handle a couple of things, that’s about it. I’ve got the same assignment, it ain’t changed.”

“Look, you’re talking about taking your best defender and a guy that was a real candidate for Defensive Player of the Year off of a guy who he’s doing a great job on to put him on another guy,” Carlisle added. “We could look at it at different times in the games, but let’s not forget how great Durant is and he’s in the MVP conversation. They present a lot of problems and we’re working on solutions.”

Note: The Mavs-Thunder series continues on Thursday night with Game 3 taking place at the American Airlines Center, airing locally on TXA 21 and nationally on TNT at 8:30 p.m. CT.

WEAR BLUE – Wear it…or we’ll give you a free T-shirt to wear. All fans will receive an “ALL IN” shirt at their seat when they arrive.

GET TO YOUR SEAT EARLY – All fans coming to the game are encouraged to get to their seats early.

WATCH PARTIES – Watch parties will continue on Monday Night, doors will open one hour before tip off. Watch parties are free, but there is a $5 parking fee in the Platinum Garage. For more info visit mavs.com.

The Mavs-Thunder first-round series schedule is as follows:

Game 3: Thunder at Mavericks; Thursday May 3 at 8:30 p.m. CT on TNT/TXA 21
Game 4: Thunder at Mavericks; Saturday May 5 at 6:30 p.m. CT on TNT/TXA 21
Game 5: Mavericks at Thunder; Monday May 7 at 7 p.m. CT on TNT/TXA 21
Game 6: Thunder at Mavericks; Thursday May 10 TBA
Game 7: Mavericks at Thunder; Saturday May 12 TBA

Episode 58 for the Mavericks Outsider Report can be downloaded here.

Episode 58 of the Mavericks Outsider Report is here. As usual, we get you caught up an all things Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks find themselves in an 0-2 hold. MOR discusses what happened, why it happened, what we think we learned, and whether or not it can be fixed in short order. Bryan shares some stories from the road trip to OKC, and we dine on some playoff flavored Nuggets as you might expect.

Intro – Feeling Better, or Feeling Worse? The interesting banter of Collin Cowherd.
24:55 – Recapping Games 1 and 2
52:15 – Bryan’s Tales from the Road
1:06:05 – MOR Revelations after the first two games of the series
1:24:22 – NBA Nuggets (Charlotte’s Ineptitude, JJ Barea Talks, Clippers Comeback, ACLs going wild on opening weekend, Rajon Rondo and the Ref, Andrew Bynum Beasting, Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year)
1:48:45 – Looking Ahead to Games 3, 4, and potentially 5

Our next show broadcast is to be determined. When you’re able to listen live, you can catch the show via Ustream. For future reference, you can catch the live stream here and you’ll be able to download the podcast, as always, if you’re unable to listen live at the link listened above or on iTunes. If you’re an iTunes fiend, be sure to subscribe and the episodes will be ready and waiting for you. Also, you can always email us your thoughts and questions at MavericksOutsiderReport@gmail.com

Stay connected with Dallas Mavericks reporter Bryan Gutierrez by following him on Twitter.

DALLAS —The Dallas Mavericks find themselves in a 2-0 hole as they return back home for Game 3 on Thursday night. “Right now, we’ve got to win four out of five to win the series and that’s our mindset,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “And what’s done is done.” One of the bigger stories to come out of Game 2’s victory for the Oklahoma City Thunder was the productivity of Derek Fisher. The veteran guard has always been a presence in the Playoffs with his clutch shooting, but he had struggled to find his way with the Thunder before Game 2. Fisher finished the game with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting in 24 minutes of action. The minutes are a big story of the game as his scoring, alongside the effectiveness of Russell Westbrook, led to the Thunder throwing a prominent weapon used by the Mavericks – the three-guard lineup. “That’s how they play,” Carlisle said of the Thunder’s small-ball lineup. “There’s no surprise there.” Kevin Durant was the original threat to key in on with the Thunder, but Russell Westbrook’s effectiveness has altered the perspective with the Thunder.

The biggest surprise might be that their small-ball lineup was the second longest lineup they used on the during Game 2. The lineup of Derek Fisher, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kevin Durant and Nick Collison worked together for seven minutes. Together, they went 6-of-8 from the field, 5-of-6 from the free throw line and scored 17 points. It is too small of a sample size, but that lineup fared well from an advanced statistics perspective. For a frame of reference, that lineup was lined up to score 116.1 points per 100 possessions and only allow 91.9 points per 100 possessions. Both ratings would line up as top levels in their respective categories.

The Mavericks ultimately found something that worked as they went small as well. Dallas would implement their own small-ball lineup with Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion as the post players. The lineup that triggered the run for the Mavericks in the second quarter as they found themselves down by 16 points was the lineup of Jason Kidd, Rodrigue Beaubois, Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion. In five minutes of action, that lineup went 6-of-11 from the field, 5-of-5 from the free throw line and scored 17 points. That lineup had its issues on the defensive end as they lined up to allow 114.1 points per 100 possessions, but they had their offensive rating at 151.8. “We just really matched up with that,” Nowitzki said as they made the move to playing small. “That’s all we really did.”

The Thunder’s move forced the hand of Carlisle and the coaching staff. With the size and speed Oklahoma City used, it really only allowed Ian Mahinmi and Brandan Wright to be realistic options at the five position. Many believed that Dirk was playing the center position, but coach Carlisle was quick to correct that assessment. “Dirk wasn’t playing center, Marion was playing center,” Carlisle explained. “We’re going to continue to adjust how we need to adjust in the games in the series.” The small-ball lineup might give the Mavericks the things that Carlisle believes the team ultimately needs against the Thunder. “We need energy, persistence and perseverance. I’ll call on anybody to go out there and give us any of those characteristic things,” said Carlisle. “Everybody has got to be ready.”

The adjustment to that kind of lineup concept, not necessarily that specific lineup, obviously gives Dallas another playmaker on the perimeter and it worked some. It ultimately proved to be an experiment that gave more positive results than negative results. Depending on what the game dictates, that option could become more prominent in the Mavericks’ rotation.

According to Whowins.com, the Mavericks find themselves in quite the precarious spot. The Dallas – Oklahoma City series is only the fifth best-of-7 NBA playoff series in which the team taking the 2-0 lead did so through a combined victory margin of four points or less. It marks the first since the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals. The New Jersey Nets, with Jason Kidd as the point guard, won Games 1-2 by a combined four-point victory margin over the Detroit Pistons. With this being the fifth instance, Dallas is looking to become the first team to come back and win a series after suffering a combined defeat margin of four points or less.

While Oklahoma City has a 2-0 lead, history shows that teams in their position don’t fare well once they have to travel on the road. Teams that have a 2-0 series lead and started with homecourt advantage in a best-of-seven series have a record of 19-25 (43.2 win percentage) in Game 3, the first road game of the series for them.

The Mavericks will need more answers as they try to extend the series. The once proclaimed three-headed monster at the center position may have to give way to the small-ball lineup. “Some of this is going to be seat of the pants, reading your gut and going with things that are unconventional because we’re playing a team that has great flexibility,” Carlisle said. “They have great athleticism and great speed. They have some guys that are great playmakers.

“We’re right there [against Oklahoma City], and we’ve got to make the plays coming back home.” As the Mavericks head home, they might have to make those plays using a different lineup.

Note: The Mavs will now head back to Dallas, taking Tuesday off before returning to practice on Wednesday. The Mavs-Thunder series continues on Thursday night with Game 3 taking place at the American Airlines Center, airing locally on TXA 21 and nationally on TNT at 8:30 p.m. CT.

(Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images North America)

OKLAHOMA CITY — It was another down to the wire game between the Mavericks and the Thunder. Oklahoma City came out on top again with a 102-99 victory. The Thunder now have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series as the series shifts back to Dallas on Thursday night.

The Mavericks are down 2-0 in the series due to a painful course of repetition. Once again, Dallas had issues finding a way to score in the final stretch of the game. They had two buckets in the final 2:17 of the game, a Vince Carter jumper and a layup by Jason Terry. Oklahoma City didn’t hit a field goal in the final 4:51 of the game, but found points at the free throw line as they went a perfect 8-of-8 from the line down the stretch. This now marks the fourth game in Oklahoma City where Dallas has led in the final minute of the game only to see their opponent come out victorious. “Well, it’s tough,” Dirk Nowitzki admitted. “Really, all four games we’ve had here — two in the regular season and two in the playoffs — we’re right there and really we’re just a couple of bounces away from being up 2-0. It’s tough and it’s frustrating, but we’ve got to keep coming. We’re not going to lay down.”

When it comes to assessing the first two games of the series, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle was blunt about what hasn’t gone right. “We just haven’t made enough plays,” coach Carlisle said. “It’s tough, no question about it. We’ve had opportunities and we haven’t cashed in.

“As my good friend (Rangers’ manager) Ron Washington would say, ‘that’s how baseball go.’ Hey, they held serve. We got to go home and hold serve. We come away disappointed, but not dismayed.”

Dirk Nowitzki had two critical misses in the fourth quarter, but it’s nearly impossible to put the blame on his shoulders. Nowitzki had a spectacular performance, scoring 31 points on 10-of-19 shooting, highlighted by a 14-point second quarter. The two misses might be the thing that linger most. With 1:13 left in the game and a one-point lead, 97-96, Nowitzki had a wide open look at a 25-foot jumper. Ultimately, the shot would not hit the bottom of the net. The other shot saw him go for a patented fadeaway jumper. Like Kevin Durant’s game-winning shot in the opening game of the series, Nowitzki’s shot would hit various parts of the rim. Unlike Durant’s shot, the ball would rattle outside.

“That 3-ball I had in the corner, that’s game time if we go up four,” Nowitzki said. “The game’s over. I had a good look. The other one, the fadeaway, I’ve made it a hundred times. It bounced, hit every part of the rim and bounced off.

“That’s kind of the way our season’s been going. They get their bounce last game. We don’t get it. It’s frustrating, but we’re going to keep coming and compete the same way.”

The Mavericks are 1-7 when they lose the first two games of a best-of-seven series. Dallas has climbed out of an 0-2 hole twice in franchise history. They defeated Houston in seven games in 2005, after dropping the first two games of the opening-round series at home. They also came back from an 0-2 deficit to beat Utah in five games in 2001.

Even with that daunting challenge ahead of them, Nowitzki believes his team will fight. “If they beat us, we’re going to make them earn it…We’re not going to give it to them. They’ve got to take it,” Nowitzki said. Dirk had a simple answer for what the team has to do to bounce back after suffering another tough loss that came down to the wire. “You’ve just got to keep competing,” Nowitzki concluded. “We’re not going to lay down.” In addition to not laying down, the Mavericks have another thing on their to-do list – protect their home floor.

The Mavs will now head back to Dallas, taking Tuesday off before returning to practice on Wednesday. The Mavs-Thunder series continues on Thursday night with Game 3 taking place at the American Airlines Center, airing locally on TXA 21 and nationally on TNT at 8:30 p.m. CT.