Dallas Beats Oklahoma City in Game 3 of Western Conference Finals

The Western Conference finals just got interesting as the Dallas Mavericks won Game 3 over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Right out of the gate the Mavericks showed they were going to be a tough team to beat, even on the home court of the Thunder. The home cooking was supposed to be a huge advantage for the Thunder, but it ended up getting squashed by some great shooting and keen defense by the Mavericks in the first quarter.

According to ESPN, the Mavs won Game 3 93-87. In the first quarter, the Mavericks outscored the Thunder 27-12, creating a lead that they would easily be able to hold on to until the end. The Thunder did make a nice run in the fourth quarter to make it more competitive, but this game was all in the control of Mark Cuban's latest concoction.

Balanced scoring did the trick for Dallas, led by 18 points from Shawn Marion and Dirk Nowitzki. Jason Terry dropped in another 12 points off the bench, but maybe more important were the six offensive rebounds that Tyson Chandler was able to grab. He ended up with 15 on the night, meshed nicely with two steals and a blocked shot.

As for the Thunder, they simply could not hit shots when it counted. The team would end up shooting just over 36 percent from the field, which included bad shooting nights from both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Durant shot 7-of-22 from the field and Westbrook went 8-for-20 on his side of things. They would score 54 points between the two of them due to 23-of-25 shooting from the foul line though.

Game 3 was a stark reminder that the Mavericks have been in a position like this before, and know how to handle themselves in the NBA Playoffs. The Thunder is just not ready to make that next step, and it couldn't have been more obvious than on Saturday night. This loss could not have come at a worse time either, as all of the momentum had swung back to Oklahoma City after their Game 2 upset.

Game 4 will again be in Oklahoma City, with tip-off scheduled for 9 p.m. ET on Monday. Game 5 will be back in Dallas on Wednesday, and that could potentially be a close-out game for the Mavericks if they also win on Monday. For the analysts that thought Dallas might be too old to make it out of the first round, this seems more like a team on a distinct mission now.