The Dallas Mavericks looked to build off a 129-99 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers Friday, March 13, by attempting to cool off Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Mavericks would be without perhaps their best defensive player, Al-Farouq Aminu, while the Thunder continued to be without reining MVP Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka who was reported earlier in the afternoon to be out as he needed to undergo knee surgery.

This game was a tale of two complete opposite halves as the Mavs would have to rally back from early adversity to pick up a nail biting 119-115 win, and move into fifth place in the Western Conference standings.

The Mavericks came out aggressive from the start as they would take an early 9-0 lead behind the hot hand of Chandler Parsons. However, it wouldn't be long before Russell Westbrook would lead the Thunder on a run to tie the game up and eventually take a 29-27 lead going into the second quarter. Russell Westbrook and Rajon Rondo put on an assist clinic in the opening frame with both point guards dropping dimes at an alarming rate with Rondo having seven assists in the first quarter while Westbrook had eight of his own.

The second quarter was all about the big boys down low as the Thunder used their size and physicality to dominant the boards in the second quarter. Backup big man Mitch McGary led the way as he recorded a career high 11 boards in the first half alone. Enes Kanter and McGary dominated early on to propel OKC to a 10-point lead before Rondo was able to orchestrate a Mavs run to make it  49-45, with 4:54 in the second quarter.

Dallas began to unravel a bit in the waning minutes of the half as Tyson Chandler picked up a technical foul at the 2:13 mark of the second period for arguing with officials, and was then assessed a flagrant-one call with 1:06 remaining in the half for a hard hack on Thunder center Enes Kanter. Despite Rondo’s three-pointer to beat the buzzer at the close of the half, the Mavericks faced a 63-53 deficit at the midway mark.

Led by Kanter’s 15 first-half points on 6-of-7 shooting, the Thunder held the halftime lead while bettering the Mavs from the field, 48.8 percent to 41.7 percent. Oklahoma City also held a 31-20 rebounding edge and was simply outmuscling the Mavs on the boards.

During halftime the Mavericks would find out Devin Harris would be unable to play in the second half due to an undisclosed illness.

The Thunder started the second half right where they left off by attacking the Mavs interior defense and forcing Dirk Nowitzki to pick up his fourth foul with just under 11 minutes left in the third. The Thunder would go on to their biggest lead of the game, 15, with 8:15 left forcing Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle to call a timeout.

The Mavericks seemed to be without any answers for the Thunder's size down low until  a flagrant-one foul was called on Russell Westbrook’s shot to J.J. Barea’s face, after that Dallas began to wake up.

Chandler Parsons began the Mavericks charge back with a thunderous slam on the ensuing play and knocked down a pair of three-pointers to give life to his teammates. Parsons was relentless at attacking the basket, none better than his lay in drive to end the quarter with the game tied at 92 all.

Dirk Nowitzki had 13 points of his own in the third quarter and continued his hot shooting hand in the fourth with a three-pointer from top of the key to give the Mavs a 98-94 with 8:35 remaining. Rajon Rondo, who is not known for his jump shooting ability, knocked down a pair of mid-range shots for a 104-100 lead with five minutes remaining.

Russell Westbrook would roar back to tie the game up at 104-104 with 4:18 left on the game clock before the two teams would engage in a sequence of hot potato with the score fluctuating back and forth.

Then things would get dicey for the Thunder as Steven Adams would foul out of the game with 1:30 remaining that resulted in two made Tyson Chandler free throws for a 110-108 Dallas lead. Chandler Parsons would hit a floater on the ensuing Mavs possession, and then followed a two-play sequence that would bury the Thunder.

Russell Westbrook was called for an offensive foul on the following play for a charge on Monta Ellis, and then was called for his sixth foul on the inbounds play as he overreached on a ball lobbed to Chandler Parsons in Thunder territory with 59,3 seconds left.

After Russell Westbrook fouled out the Thunder extended the game with an Anthony Morrow three and a couple Dion Waiters layups, but it was too little too late as the Mavs iced the game with clutch free throws by Monta Ellis to seal the deal.

Chandler Parsons led the way for the Mavericks in scoring for the second game in a row scoring 31 points on 10-of-14 shooting and 3-of-5 from three-point range. Monta Ellis pitched in 24 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 22 points in the first unit, while Rajon Rondo finished with 11 points and 13 assists to record a double-double. It was also his second most assists in a game during his tenure with the Mavs.

Russell Westbrook led six Thunder scorers in double figures, finishing with 24 points on 7-of-17 from the field to go along with eight rebounds and 12 assists. The Mavericks outshot the Thunder from the field 47.2 percent to 44.4 percent, to overcome a 59-37 rebounding disadvantage. The Mavs also scored 30 points off the Thunder’s 21 turnovers, surrendering 23 points off their own 13 giveaways.

The Dallas Mavericks now move a half game ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs for the fifth seed out West, while the Thunder's lead for the eighth spot over the New Orlean Pelicans is cut to half a game.

The Mavericks improve to 2-1 on their five game homestand and look for their third win in a row Wednesday, March 18 as they take on the Orlando Magic.