OKC Thunder: Kendrick Perkins decided he would cover Dirk Nowitzki

There was a sense of anger in the voice of Mavs sixth man Jason Terry, who finished with 20 points and shot 8 for 10 from the field, but got off only one shot in the fourth period.

“Oh, we know we can beat them,” Terry said. “There's no doubt in my mind. It was a one-possession game, and it's a game of possessions. Every possession is critical and understanding that we've been in many situations like this. It's nothing new to us.”

NO PICTURES, PLEASE

Around 3 a.m. Sunday, Mavericks shooting guard Delonte West tweeted the following: “I think that's the last of it …. I feel like my soul just tried to get out my body …”

West had struggled with food poisoning the previous few days, believed to have been caused by some bad oysters he ate before the regular-season finale at Atlanta.

And, Delonte being Delonte, his graphic tweet came with a photo attached.

West said he feels “a lot better. Headache's pretty much gone away.”

UP NEXT

Here is the remaining best-of-7 series schedule: Game 2 — Monday at 8:30 p.m., OKC; Game 3 — Thursday at 8:30 p.m., Dallas; Game 4 — Saturday at 6:30 p.m., Dallas; Game 5, if necessary — Monday, May 7, time TBA, at OKC; Game 6, if necessary — Thursday, May 10, time TBA, at Dallas; Game 7, if necessary — Saturday, May 12, at time TBA, at OKC.

QUOTABLE

Perkins on the play of Ibaka, who had 22 points (9 for 12 from the field), six rebounds and five blocked shots in Game 1: “He had an excellent game. You could just tell in his focus and his attitude, how he's been approaching practices and film sessions and stuff like that he was destined to have that type of game.”