OKC vs MAVS: Start of the series and Dirk BEASTS IT OUT!!!?

I am pulling for OKC. Let me start off by stating that. Let me also follow that up by saying that I am extremely proud of this team for being able to keep from being blown out in the first game, which is something that the Heat were not able to do in the first game against the Bulls.

Now, I am an objective person. And I will be pulling for OKC for the Western Conference until the end of this series, when they go to the finals and battle against the Bulls. But, with that being said.... Dirk Nowitzki .... WAS A STRAIGHT BEAST!!! This man played arguably the absolute best game he has ever played in his entire career as a basketball player!!! I mean, he absolutely fired on all cylinders, made every single free throw shot when he was put on the line and became the first player in the history of the game to shoot 24 consecutive free throw points in a playoff series ( I have to check and see if that is also a record for regular season as well) He could not have played a better game at all!!! There is absolutely nothing more he could have done. For me, I believe that what he gave his team tonight was one of those rare performances where he single handedly had to force this win down OKC's throat. And OKC stayed in the game up until the last 2 minutes of the game, and STILL did not get blown out in the 121-112 loss to the Mavs. JJ Barea murdered Robinson and make some awesome shots. Jason Terry was not missed in the rotation and knocked down some important 3's and the true veteran Jason Kid knocked a 3 back!!! ( Marion and Chandler were super awesome in helping the team as well)

What I feel happened in this game with OKC is first and foremost, Westbrook made some bad decisions to try and create his own plays and got away from the outstanding all around playing he managed to display in the 7th game against the Grizzlies. I think in part the main reason that OKC was not able to get this win was not because they could not defend Nowitzki... there was absolutely nothing at all OKC could do with that man at all. But, because Westbrook forced some shots instead of giving the ball to their hottest shooter Durant, he took away their ability to play their game. He basically lost the game for his team by being out of rhythm and not being able to recognize that the difference in these games is going to come down to whether he can make the right decisions and move the ball out to the players that are hot instead of trying ot force plays. Durant had 40 points tonight, adn even though Westbrook had 20 points, there were 4 turn overs made by him that could have easily converted into 6-12 points that were missed because he was not able to recognize that he was not making the key decisions needed for his team to play their game. I also think that because this is a younger team, Westbrook in turn got sucked into playing Maverick basketball. And they will never beat this team at their own game.

All and all, this was a phenomenal game and a positive learning experience for the Thunder I think. ( Alright , I am being long winded here for sure. let me wrap it up)

Let me ask you this:

Q1) Dirk played the best basketball he has ever played in a series. Do you think he has more games like this one left in him?

Q2) What do you think OKC could have done to take this game, and how can they improve?

Q3) OKC is going to come back hungry and ready to play OKC ball. What do you think the Mavs have to do in game 2 to maintain the momentum of high octane basketball and win this next game at home?

Q4) What does OKC have to do to win game 2?