The Thunder go for the sweep over the Mavericks at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday.
The Thunder go for the sweep over the Mavericks at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday. REUTERS

The Oklahoma City Thunder have a chance to sweep the defending champion Dallas Mavericks out of the NBA Playoffs tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET from Dallas.

Oklahoma survived scares in games one and two on their home floor, winning game one 99-98 on a buzzer beater from Kevin Durant, then hanging on for a 102-99 win on Monday in game two.

But game three was a different matter, the Thunder led by as many as 26 points on their way to a dominating 95-79 victory on the Mavericks' home floor.

For the Thunder, there is an element of payback in this series. The Thunder were knocked out 4-1 by the Mavs last season in the Western Conference Finals before Dallas knocked out the Heat for the title.

No NBA team has ever come back from down 0-3 in a playoff series, but the Mavericks will certainly be playing for pride tonight in an attempt to win at least one game in the series.

To do that the Mavericks are going to need players like Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion to step up and have big games in support of Dirk Nowitski.

The Thunder will counter with the dual headed monster that is Russel Westbrook and Durant, and look for James Harden to contribute as a major piece of the bench.

Where to watch: The game can be viewed online at http://nbaliveonline.com/streaming/. It will also be broadcast nationally on TNT at 7:30 PM ET.

Prediction: Dallas is a veteran team with a lot of pride, but they will not be able to hold off the onslaught that is a motivated Durant. The Mavericks will keep it close at the half, but it will be wrapped up early.

Predicted Score: Oklahoma City over Dallas 108-88