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 However, before the Thunder defeated the Dallas Mavericks 104-89
Thursday at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, the most important move
they made may have been getting rid of a player.
The Thunder improved to 29-25 on the same day they dealt away four
players, including guard Reggie Jackson and center Kendrick Perkins,
at the trade deadline.
"We felt like everybody wanted to be here except for one guy,"
forward Kevin Durant said of Jackson. "He got what he wanted. He got
what he wanted."
Forward Serge Ibaka scored 21 points and grabbed a career-high 22
rebounds to lead Oklahoma City. Guard Russell Westbrook scored 34
points and 10 assists.
Thunder guard Anthony Morrow scored 16 points. Durant was held to 12
points on 4-of-14 shooting, and he left the game early for the
second consecutive contest due to a sore right foot.
"It's a little sore," Durant said. "I'll talk to the trainers
tomorrow to see what we can do to make it better."
 Despite the return of guard Rajon Rondo to the lineup for the first
time since Jan. 31, Dallas dropped to 36-20. The Mavericks shot 36.3
percent from the field and were outrebounded 62-39. The Thunder shot
41.8 percent.
Forward Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavs with 14 points on 6-for-16
shooting. Guard Devin Harris came off the bench to score 13 points
in 18 minutes.
"Coming out of the break, we just weren't very sharp unfortunately,"
Nowitzki said. "I thought we tried to keep competing. I thought we
missed shots and (committed) bad turnovers. I think we got
frustrated a little bit. We started arguing a little bit too much
with ourselves instead of just playing and competing."
Oklahoma City came out in the first half as if it had something to
prove. With a disgruntled Jackson now on the Detroit Pistons'
roster, the Thunder seemed to have an extra bounce in their step
against the Mavericks.
Morrow quickly showed why he may be the biggest beneficiary of the
Jackson trade. He tallied 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting in the
first half. Morrow sank a jumper at the buzzer to give the Thunder a
52-36 halftime advantage.
The 36 first-half points represented the second-lowest output of the
season for Dallas. Despite coming off a long break, the Mavericks
shot only 29 percent while turning the ball over 12 times in the
first half.
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Oklahoma City continued to increase its lead without Westbrook or
Durant putting up big numbers. Along with the balanced scoring
attack, the Thunder used a stifling defense and serious work on the
boards. In the third quarter alone, Ibaka hauled in seven rebounds.
After the Mavs fell behind by 22 points, they slowly began to creep
back into the game as the Thunder wore down. Dallas used an 8-0 run
to start the fourth and only trailed 83-73 with 10:12 left in the
game.
However, that was as close as Dallas would get the rest of the
night.
"It was poor, a poor performance," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said.
"No question about it. Some were bad decisions. Some were them
making good plays. Bottom line is, we've got to be better."
NOTES: Oklahoma City had only 10 players available Thursday, but
playing short-handed is not new to Thunder coach Scott Brooks.
"We've had some challenges throughout this season of dealing with a
shorter lineup," Brooks said. "But we have enough. I've been told a
long time ago and many times, all you need is five on the court."
... F Amar'e Stoudemire, whose contract was bought out by the New
York Knicks earlier this week, joined the Mavericks in Oklahoma
City. However, Stoudemire didn't play Thursday, and he also will sit
out Saturday's game at Charlotte to get acclimated to the new team,
coach Rick Carlisle said. ... Dallas owner Mark Cuban was asked if
the Mavericks would be interested in signing C Kendrick Perkins if
the Utah Jazz buy out his contract. He said the Mavs are set up
front and would not pursue Perkins.
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