On This Day: Durant and Harden's Big Fourth Quarter Levels the 2011 Western Conference Finals

In the franchise's third season, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden combined to level 1-1 with Dirk Nowitzki's Dallas Mavericks

Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden exploded, making play after play to silence the Dallas faithful.

After a cagey third quarter, the Thunder trio made play after play down the stretch to clinch the Thunder victory on May 19, 2011.

But it was Nick Collison and Thabo Sefolosha who would sink four free throws in the final minute to ice the game 106-100 and level Oklahoma City 1-1 with Dirk Nowitzki’s Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 Western Conference Finals.

Just three short years after arriving in Oklahoma City, the young Thunder announced themselves to the NBA stage, ensuring the entire league knew they were a legitimate threat on the rise.

Rebounding from a 121-112 loss in game one of the series, Durant led the way for OKC with 24 points on 11-of-23 shooting, adding three rebounds, four assists and a steal. Hot on his heels, Harden poured in 23 points on 6-of-9 shooting, sinking 4-of-7 attempts from 3-point range, and Westbrook scored 18 points, pulling down three rebounds and dishing out four assists.

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Ten of Harden’s 23 points came in the fourth quarter, sinking a pair of 3-pointers to bat back any chance of a late Dallas rally.

Nowitzki led all scorers with 29 points, and proved to be too much for Oklahoma City as he would lead the Mavericks to three straight wins in response, punching Dallas’ ticket to the NBA Finals and an eventual championship against the Miami Heat.

The Thunder core would stick together for another year and exact their revenge, sweeping the Mavericks in the opening round of the playoffs the next year en route to an NBA Finals run of their own.

Though they ultimately lost the series, the 2011 Western Conference Finals showed OKC what it took to win at the highest level in the playoffs, lessons that would serve Westbrook and Durant for the rest of their tenure together in the NBA’s newest city.