NBA Playoffs: Dallas Mavericks Prime to Split Series with OKC Thunder

More than 24 hours after Kevin Durant made one of the more memorable baskets in playoff history, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks return to the court tonight for Game 2 of a first-round series that Jason Terry says will be a classic. I think the day off to recover from such heartbreak on Saturday was much needed.

Well, that premise is already off to a great start.

Durant shot 10-for-27 on Saturday night, but hit the game winner with 1.5 seconds left to give the No. 2-seeded OKC a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series with the defending NBA champions.

Dallas was in prime position to take the first game and steal home-court advantage, but a 9-2 run by the Thunder tied the game with over a minute to go. Then, the three-time scoring champion Durant hit the final shot that sent the champs back to their hotel rooms in disbelief.

But if there's one thing that last year taught us, even though this is nowhere near last year's Mavs team, it's that you can never count this team out of any situation—even if they're the seventh seed in the West.

Dallas proved that they could contend with the electrifying trio of Durant, Russell Westbrook—who had the game-high in points in Game 1 with 28—and James Harden who returned to action scoring 19 points after suffering a concussion last week.

It's clear that this series will be determined by runs and how each team will counter them. In Game 1 Dallas set the tempo in the first half with an 11-2 run, but that was followed by a 14-3 run by OKC. Both teams countered 9-0 runs at one point in the fourth quarter.

So don't get too comfy if your team has a large lead.

Rick Carlisle surely won't—especially when he calls 20 timeouts in 10 minutes. We saw what happened with the Grizzlies and Clippers last night, so don't think a 20-plus-point lead is insurmountable to come back from with these two teams.

Dirk Nowitzki is going to have to get off to a better start in the first half. Last year's NBA Finals MVP scored 25 points to lead Dallas, but was 4-for-10 in the first half, including missing five of the six attempts he took in the first quarter.

It's easy to understand why Carlisle didn't insert Rodrigue Beaubois into the lineup for Saturday, but it's essential that the coach gives the young guard a chance to run some offense tonight. Beaubois is the man who makes it happen in the fast break offense all by himself, and giving him a chance to make plays out of the half-court offense will be a nice change of pace for Dallas.

The Mavs proved on Saturday that they can go toe-to-toe with the young guns in OKC. They could split the series tonight and go back to Dallas with all the momentum in the world.

Oklahoma City may be a tough place to play, but believe me: no one wants to play the Mavs at home in a series tied at a game apiece.

Leave your thoughts on Game 2 in the comments section and tell everyone what you think might happen in OKC tonight.