Dallas Mavericks Prepare for Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals

Game three of the Western Conference Finals will be played Saturday evening as the Dallas Mavericks hit the road fresh of the Thunders 106 to 100 Game 2 victory over the Mav’s that snapped Dallas’s post-season seven game winning streak.

The Mavericks need their defense to show up if they hope to win on the road in Oklahoma City. Dallas gave up just 44 percent shooting in the first two rounds of the play-offs, but have been lit up to the tune of 51.4 percent by the Thunder in the opening two games. Normally the Thunder shoot better from home too, and one has to believe having the home crowd’s energy behind that youthful team will only have Oklahoma City playing harder and with a lot of emotion.

The big story line going into this game on Oklahoma City’s side of the ball is how Russell Westbrook will perform after being benched for the fourth quarter of Game 2. Westbrook made 7 of 15 shots in Game 2, up from his 3 of 15 performance in Game 1. He’s said all the right things in the post-game press conference, but a young players psyche is a funny thing so we will have to wait and see how he does when tip-off gets underway at 8 p.m. from the Oklahoma City Arena.