The Oklahoma City Thunder learned first-hand exactly why experience trumps youth in critical games.  Reality slapped them in the face during the waning moments in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals vs. the Dallas Mavericks.

The Thunder were well on their way to splitting the series 2-2, leading the Mavs by 15 points with 5:05 remaining in the fourth quarter.  Obviously, a lot can happen in five minutes; but they also gave up a ten-point lead with just 2:15 left.  In a game that saw the Thunder leading throughout regulation, the Mavs outscored their opponent 28-6.

A mountain of events happened in those final minutes, as well as the ensuing overtime period, that resulted in Dallas coming away with the win, 112-105. 

Suffice to say that amid many bad decisions and plays – including fouls, turnovers and missed shots, just to name a few – Oklahoma City simply choked in a game they could have easily won.  Don’t be surprised to hear a catchy phrase (The Choke?) being coined soon to permanently describe this game.

"It was all about getting stops," explained Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle about the overtime dominance.  "We’ve been extremely opportunistic.  The way they hung in tonight was fantastic.

"We have a group of guys that are veteran.  We’ve got some really high IQ guys that know each others’ strengths and really what happened the last five minutes was all about the defensive end."

From the Thunder’s perspective, there’s no shortage of blame.

"We didn’t do a lot of things well.  Give credit to the Mavericks, they did a lot of things well," said Thunder coach Scott Brooks.

It’s easy to point to the Thunder’s tender age – the average age of their starters is 23.4 years old – as one of the reasons they were unable to close out this game, but not everyone buys into that theory.

"This is basketball.  Our youth has nothing to do with what we do on the floor right now," said Kevin Durant.  "We showed we can play at this level.  They played good defense.  We were missing shots.  Our youth has nothing to do with it.

"I believe in my teammates.  I trust in them.  But we just weren’t making shots and they were."

Not surprisingly, Durant was nearly despondent after the loss.  In the post-game press conference, he spoke in a low, labored, even pained, voice.  His head was frequently held in his hands.  By now, most folks know the type of person he is; he takes nothing for granted and is thankful for everything.  And he continues to endear himself to the fans of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"It’s such a blessing to have great fans, because they easily could have just walked out on us," Durant began.  "We’re up 14, 15 (with) five, six minutes to go and they could’ve (left).  They stuck with us when they (Dallas) were on their way back.  They didn’t boo or nothing.  Having fans like that behind us means the world to us."

Then he said the words that tugged at the hearts of Thunder fans.

"I feel upset because I let them down.  I let the city down.

"I was trying to play with so much force.  I played so hard," continued Durant.  "Early on, I was getting the ball where I wanted to, and they were just playing straight-up defense.  But later on I got the ball where I wanted to, and I see three or four guys around me, and I had to make a pass.  Some passes were tipped, some passes I got offensive fouls, I didn’t get the foul, I got turnovers.

"We lost," he said poignantly.

"If this loss did not hurt then there’s no such thing as a loss that can hurt you," said Brooks.  "There’s no question that this is a very difficult loss, but it is a loss that you have to take.  You have to take it like a man and move on."

{AUTHOR_BOX}Moving on is exactly what they plan do to.  The series is not over.  Granted, only two NBA teams have ever prevailed in a 3-1 situation without home-court advantage, but clearly OKC’s odds aren’t great.

"I just want to come back next game and play even harder," said Durant.  "I think I played hard tonight, but (I want to) push it up another level for these fans and try to bring it back here to OKC."

"We still have a chance to get to our ultimate goal, (and) that is to get to the Finals and win a championship," added Brooks.  "Obviously the odds are against us, but…there’s odds.  When you have odds, you still have a chance."

The one Thunder win in this series came on the Mavs’ court in Game 2.  It’s hard to believe they were unable to snag at least one win on their own home court.

"It’s difficult to beat this team," said Nick Collison.  "They’ve earned their wins, and they’re really good down the stretch.  We just have to be ready to play when we tip-off and try to get a win.

"That’s all there is to it."

"I think they’re going to come back in Game 5 and throw everything at us," said Dirk Nowitzki.  "Obviously they’re desperate now.  But they showed they can win on our home court.  They stole Game 2 there, so they’re gonna be still confident and we’ve got to take it.  Nothing’s going to be given to you in this league especially in the playoffs."

The Thunder seems to be traveling on a path to glory in warp speed.  After the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008, with superstar-in-training Durant and just-drafted Russell Westbrook in tow, they closed out their first season with a 23-59 record.  The surprise second season (50-32, good for a trip to the playoffs) caught NBA followers’ attention.  This third season (55-27) demonstrated OKC was for real with spirited series wins against the Denver Nuggets and the Memphis Grizzlies.

They have no delusions about what it takes to get to that next level.  It’s a process full of ups-and-downs, challenges and devastating losses.

What an unlikely coup indeed to have even gotten this far, this soon.

"Everybody goes through it," Brooks said.  "There’s never been a coach or a player or a team that goes from not being a very good team, record-wise, to being an NBA champion without going through it.

"You have to accept it and grow from it."

The fact is the Mavericks need only one more win to claim the conference title, thereby sealing a bid to the NBA Championship game.  Of course, Carlisle knows he’s got his team in a favorable position, yet wisely recognizes it’s not yet a done deal.

"We worked really hard in these two games to win.  None of that guarantees anything for Game 5 – we know that," he said.  "All of us involved in with this team have been through a lot of these wars.  We understand the position we’re in.  We respect it.  We’re very humble about it.  We’ve got to get ourselves rested up for Wednesday, because that’s an opportunity."

We’ll let a somber Durant have the last word.  He said this at practice: "I (haven’t) talked to nobody…my mom, my grandma.  I usually have a good time with them.  I’m just gonna lay it all on the line."