Mavericks Hang Tough But Fall Short Against Thunder

Westbrook was 13 of 23 from the field and 7 of 8 on free throws. Kevin Durant scored 33 points and Steven Adams added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder, who will play the San Antonio Spurs in a series that begins Saturday.

Oklahoma City shot 50.6 percent from the field and outrebounded the Mavericks 42-35.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points, Justin Anderson had 14 and Zaza Pachulia added 12 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Mavericks, who were hampered by injuries throughout the series.

Oklahoma City lost Game 2 85-84 at home, then won three straight, including two on the road.

Westbrook scored 13 points in the first quarter to help the Thunder take a 35-24 lead. The Mavericks closed to 57-55 in the second quarter, but Oklahoma City closed the half strong to lead 68-61 at the break.

Durant scored 20 points in the first half. Nowitzki scored 17 and Pachulia added 12 points, seven assists and five rebounds in the first half to keep the Mavericks close.

A 3-pointer by Westbrook late in the third quarter put the Thunder ahead 93-79, and Oklahoma City took a 93-83 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Mavericks trimmed it to 107-103 with 4:08 left before the Thunder pulled away. Durant hit a fadeaway and was fouled by Nowitzki, who was then called for a technical. Durant made both free throws to put Oklahoma City up 113-103 with 2:49 to play.

INJURED MAVERICKS

Center Salah Mejri and forward David Lee missed the game with injuries. Mejri initially strained his right hip in the fourth quarter of Saturday's game. The 7-foot-2 rookie from Tunisia started the playoff opener against the Thunder, then came off the bench the next three games. Lee sat out with a right plantar fascia injury. He missed the first two games of the series, then played a reserve role in Games 3 and 4, scoring six points in both games.

TIP-INS

Mavericks: Had just seven rebounds in the first quarter. ... Shot 52.6 percent in the first quarter and still trailed by 11 at the end of the period. ... Pachulia's nine assists were a career playoff high. He'd never had more than three in a postseason game.

Thunder: Durant was coming off his first game with fewer than 20 points since Nov. 10, 2015, a span of 67 straight games. ... Adams' 15 points were a career playoff high. It was just his second playoff double-double in 23 career playoff games.