DALLAS, May 18 (UPI) -- Red-hot Dirk Nowitzki scored 48 points Tuesday to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 121-112 win over Oklahoma City in the NBA Western Conference Finals opener.
Nowitzki hit 12-of-15 shots from the field, was perfect in 24 trips to the free throw line and threw in half a dozen rebounds for the Mavericks, who shot 53.4 percent as a team.
The series resumes Thursday night in Dallas.
Jason Terry scored 24 points and Shawn Marion had 11. They were the only two Dallas players other than Nowitzki to score in double figures.
Nowitzki's performance only slightly overshadowed Kevin Durant, who led the Thunder with 40 points and eight rebounds. Russell Westbrook scored 20 points and Serge Ibaka had 17.
Oklahoma City led 27-20 after one quarter, but the Mavericks scored more than 30 points in each of the next three quarters while the Thunder hustled to keep up, shooting 47.2 percent from the field for the entire game.
