OKLAHOMA CITY – If the Mavericks are going to have to knot this Western Conference semifinals at a win apiece on Thursday, they’re going to have to learn a lot from what ended up being a blowout loss in Game 1.
At the top of the priority list is creating better shots. You can’t shoot 34 percent in the second half and expect to win a road playoff game.
Was the OKC defense at least partly responsible? You bet.
But the Mavericks didn’t help their own cause. They didn’t create enough clean looks to make it easy on themselves.