Postgame Thoughts: Mavericks close out OKC with fourth quarter comeback in Game 5

to marc in materialistic dallas... this is an okc board. what are you even doing posting on here? Mark Cuban is from Pittsburgh and Peter Holt's family business has been in San Antonio since 1933. Do you even bother to taste your words before you spit them out? You actually said, "You are building a straw man and then attacking him in an effort to rationalize your loss. THAT is a FACT!" No Marc, that is actually an opinion and a very vague one at that. Market size is about economics and I would expect somebody from Dallas (although I'm not sure I believe you're a Texan) to understand economics. The Spurs and Peter Holt have never gone over the NBA luxary tax to build their roster (4 championships) while the Mavs consistently have one of the highest payrolls in the league. "Dallas GAVE San Antonio its team – they were the Dallas Chapparals of the old ABA." Do you actually believe that the team was givin away? They were folding financially due to poor attendance and general disinterest. In a panic the owners changed the name to the Texas Chaps and even played games in Ft. Worth and Lubbock to try and build regional interest but the attempts were unsuccessful. Finally, a group of San Antonio Businessmen, led by Red McCombs bought the team, relocated it to San Antonio, changed the colors to the black and silver motif, and...well you know the rest (4 Championships). As for Avery Johnson being a loser coach, Dirk credits him with making him develop his post game and moving him off the 3-pt line. Also, many Mavericks credit Avery for changing the defensive culture of the team entirely. He led them to the finals, but like you said, coaches and spectators don't play (choke) the games...players do. A Mavs fan would blame the only coach who ever took you to the finals for losing it. Here is a link to the all-time regular season and playoff matchups for the spurs and the mavs. http://nbauniverse.com/head_to_head/mavericks_vs_spurs_all_time.htm . If you will quickly look, which you cleary did not before, you will notice that the spurs lead the series in both the regular season and the playoffs. If your not sure why you need to defend your comments (you couldn't if you tried because they almost all seem to be completely inaccurate) then why are you back on here defending them? The Mavs did score more points than the thunder, that is about the only fact you got correct. But in basketball, there are guys with whistles called officials, or referees in some cases. These guys typically do a good job but sometimes they fail to make the right calls and some are even prone to corruption (see: Tim Donaghy). These men can sometimes put, or fail to put teams in a position to score baskets when they either deserve to or do not deserve to. These situations are called free throws and they happen to have quite a bit of importance late in games. Now seeing that this is an OKC board, us OKC fans have a right to gripe about calls we think should have been made late in the clinching game. This is not a reflection on the Mavericks, and quite frankly, has nothing to do with the spurs. Your radical and unfounded defense of the mavs shows me that you yourself have some deep-seeded insecurities involving your hometown mavs. What these are I won't even try to breakdown because to get inside your brain would likely scare me. I appreciate the spirited sports argument, I really do. But don't come on here throwing around opinions and blatant lies and trying to mascarade them as facts. You can put lipstick on a pig...but its still a pig.

Just wanted to congratulate the Thunder and their fans on a great season. Met some Thunder fans at a couple of the playoff games in Memphis and was impressed. You guys have a hell of a team. It seems we (the Grizzlies) could not get over the hump against the Thunder because we had no outside shooting and the Thunder seemed to lack a true low post presence against the Mavs forcing them to settle for jump shots much of the time. I know you guys will be back strong. Coach Brooks, KDurant and most of the team seem like classy guys. We really enjoyed our series with you guys. From someone outside OKC, I just wanted to say I hope things work out for Westbrook and the Thunder. I think he is one of the most talented, quick, strong players in the league. He is growing up and will learn to make better decisions. I know he takes a lot of criticism, but everyone in the league would love to have him. I am sure you guys will get nothing but better. Congrats again from Memphis

shannon austin tx, you need to grow a pair! THAT is a FACT! The Thunder LOST! The Mavs WON! THAT is a FACT! It is a fact that you don't like, but it is a FACT nonetheless. Your comments about big markets versus small markets is just too nonsensical to comprehend. What the hell does market size have to do with anything? Our owner is from Dallas. Your owner is from Seattle. No player on either team is from our respective cities. You are building a straw man and then attacking him in an effort to rationalize your loss. THAT is a FACT! The Longhorns dominate the Aggies because they are usually the better team and they usually attract the better players, as well as having a better coach. That, too, has NOTHING to do with market size. And, if it were not for players from Texas, then OU and OSU would be playing 6-man football. Now, THAT is a matter of market size, for sure! But, market size is only a factor in where you get your players, not for how well they play. It is rare for a hometown boy to play for his hometown team in ANY sport, so I discount any talk about market size. It just does not matter in the end. The audience does not play the game - they are merely spectators. THAT is a FACT! Dallas GAVE San Antonio its team - they were the Dallas Chapparals of the old ABA. What's your point? All we got from San Antonio was a loser coach (Avery Johnson) who took the reins of the best team in the league, and then coached it into oblivion in the 2006 NBA Finals after taking a 2-0 lead. Thanks for NOTHING! One more point - only once have the Spurts EVER won a title by beating Dallas. If you look at league records, then you will quickly see that the Mavs have won the vast majority of games in head-to-head competition against the Spurts. They won by beating OTHER teams, but not by beating Dallas. They had to rely on somebody else beating Dallas, and THAT'S A FACT! And, for the record, why do I need to defend anything I say on this board? Who the hell are you? You made your comments. I made mine. Live with it! One more point - you do not get style points for stats. You win games by baskets made. You know, points on the scoreboard. Dallas scored more points on the scoreboard than did OKC. THAT is a FACT! THAT is why we won, and it is why OKC is on vacation! How do you like THOSE FACTS?

JJ, I know all about bad shots and bad passes - out team does that consistently. We also make a LOT of great shots and great passes; enough to win games. For the record, your team is hardly only in "our THIRD year of existence." You are in your third year in OKC - you are the former Seattle SuperSonics - don't forget that fact! We do not need any reminders about being humble. We realize that we have not yet won a title, and neither has your team. But, we did defeat all our opponents in the post season so far, and we did win the West with a 12-3 record. I have stated my deep respect for the Thunder, but I directed some of my comments toward the stupid, sour grapes cocmments of other Thunder fans who obviously have to fall back on distribes about how OKC got cheated out of something they could not win. The game is 48 minutes, and they failed to play for the full 48 minutes, which is why they got beaten 4 out of 5 games. Say what you want about the Lakers, but they were the second best team in the West, and they were FAR better than OKC. Nobody gave the Mavs a chance against Portland, let alone the Lakers. We took Portland in 6, and the Lakers in a sweep. Your guys did a little better - they won 1, but it takes four to win a series. The Mavs suffered far too many bad foul calls, both against our team and missed calls that we should have gotten. That's just a part of the game. We hung in there and won, which is all that counts in the end. Now, we have a real challenge ahead of us in defeating a very good Miami team. We may or may not do that, but at least we are a party to the Big Show, and for the moment that is enough!

hey marc, instead of relying on wise guy comments how about you defend yourself with facts? Or i guess that would be using your brain too much? With all the missed shots and poor execution the Thunder still were in position to win that game last night without those calls all your points are null. The Thunder actually out shot your mavs last night if you would have checked the box score. If you had been watching the games you would have realized that in game 4 the Thunder out rebounded the mavs by 25+. And how can you say those fouls were "immaterial", what are you a middle school physics teacher? How are they not important when they completely changed the outcome of a game the Thunder had led from midway through the first quarter and beyond, until the refs who had actually put the Mavs on the line more in the game decided to not call the game the last 2 minutes. But, go on and respond by talking about a team that was not even playing (i.e. the Spurs). That comment about them reminds me of the big brother little brother syndrome that the Aggies have with the Horns. Just like the good ole' Ags, you cant escape the shadow that the HUGEEE MARKETTT Spurs have cast over you city slickers in Big D. While your team is playing for a chance to win it all, you cant help but take a stab at the most winning sports franchise in the 4 major sports over the last decade. But this is all about the thunder, and can't wait to see y'all next year.

El oh El. Couldn't have happened to "better" team. Suck it Clay Bennett. OKC fans, have fun while it lasts and get ready to pony up more tax dollars when ownership comes looking for a new building in five years.

Marc I give it up to your Mavs.