De ja vu for Thunder

Stop me if you've heard this. Oklahoma City blew a double digit forth quarter lead to lose in overtime. For those that were not fortunate enough to closely follow the Thunder's series with the Grizzlies, please do not be stunned by last night's meltdown. In game three of the Western Conference semi-finals against Memphis, Oklahoma City lost in the exact same fashion. The Thunder dominated the first three quarters, leading by 13 heading into the fourth. The Grizzlies outscored Oklahoma City 23-10 to force overtime and 15-7 to close it out. The Grizzlies' "stunning" comeback was aided by an overly aggressive Russell Westbrook and overly timid Kevin Durant. Westbrook continually dribbled the air out of the ball, forcing tough shots against a collapsing defense. Durant never asserted himself, settling for "cop out" three point attempts that failed miserably.

So last night when the Mavs went on their first 7-0 run late in the fouth, I got thatfunny feeling that Okc was going to lose. The normally rowdy crowd at Oklahoma City Arena must have felt it too, because their collective nervous energy shot through my screen like a missile. Durant was aggressive and confident for the first thirty six minutes of last night's game, and Westbrook was calm and wise with his decision making. Then came the fourth quarter. Once Dirk started to get things rolling, it seemed as though the budding super stars for the Thunder reverted to old bad habits. Westbrook went back to his school yard one on one mentality, while Durant timidly hid behind the three point line, hoping to reap the scraps rather than attack as he did all game. The Thunder will not lose this series to the Mavericks because of talent, that's a good thing. They will lose because of immaturity. Time and experience will cure that.