This was the first time in the playoffs that Dallas’ opponent scored over 100 pts. Their defense can play better than what they did last night. Dirk may not get 48 pts and 24 ft attempts again, but Druant may not get 40 pts and 19 ft attempts again either. There were 70 some odd foul shots, so that probably won’t happen again either.

Both teams are going to get offense no matter what, but once the whistle is swallowed a little bit, it will come down to execution and defensive stops.

With all that said, they lost a game on a historic performance by an all time great. No shame in that. Dallas has done what it should, and that’s winning at home. They have to do that again and if they do, OKC should still feel ok. Very early in the seires.

The saying goes, “it’s not a series until someone wins on the road.”

It seems strange to say this, but scoring is not an additive game. You can’t look at 112 points and say, gee, with Westbrook playing better, they might have had 130! If he is scoring, someone else might not be. Chances are Dirk won’t have 48 on Thursday, but other people will score more.

Chances are that the next game will be lower scoring. Both teams were jacked up for the series and played well offensively. As they settle down and adjust their defenses, the scores will drop.