By Michael McCarthy, USA TODAY
Updated 1h 37m ago
By Tony Gutierrez, AP Photo
On Thursday, the Mavs were destroyed 95-79 by the visiting Thunder to fall into an 0-3 hole in their first-round playoff series. It was the worst home playoff loss in Mavs history. And there wasn't a single basketball analyst on TNT's national telecast who gave the champs a fighting chance to come back and avoid a sweep Saturday.
The Thunder led Thursday's game from start to finish on the Mavs' home court. Dallas fans voted with their feet, walking out on the lop-sided contest in the beginning of the fourth quarter.
TNT game analyst Steve Kerr said several times the game felt like a "changing of the guard." Said Kerr: "This figures to be it now for the Mavs going forward with this particular group. There will be some changes made for Rick Carlisle and Mark Cuban. For Oklahoma City, this is just another step in the process. ... This is all part of a future that seems unlimited for the Thunder."
Kerr second-guessed Cuban for letting center Tyson Chandlerleave for the New York Knicks after their championship season. Chandler ended up winning NBA Defensive Player of the Year honors. With him went much of the toughness and defense that propelled the Mavs to their first championship.
After the game, TNT's Shaquille O'Neal said: "Dallas has just met their match. Yes, they're old. Yes, it's time for change. But OKC has their number, period."
TNT's Charles Barkley didn't even have to watch the whole game to put a fork through the aging champs and pronounce them done vs. the younger Thunder.
"Listen, the Mavs had a great run. But they got old quickly. ... These guys are too young, too athletic, too big for the Mavs," he said during halftime. "I don't see how Dallas can win a game. They got championship pride. But that don't mean anything with a team that's younger and faster."
See photos of: Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder
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