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Reminder: The Thunder and Mavericks last met in a thrilling series in the 2016 NBA playoffs

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks last met in the 2016 NBA playoffs, the first round of Kevin Durant's final season with his first franchise.

This playoff run is most remembered in OKC for its seven-game sweep of the 73-win Golden State Warriors in the Conference Finals, which included a 3-1 Thunder lead, Klay Thompson's legendary game six and the fallout that followed the Thunder's exit: the lead to Durant's departure.

The previous second round series also felt weighty. The Thunder defeated a San Antonio Spurs team with 67 wins in six games and secured home-field advantage after Manu Ginobili was knocked out of bounds with a controversial elbow from Dion Waiters. These were the final days of Tim Duncan's career. A young Steven Adams, despite an audition migraineoutplayed Duncan in the decisive game.

But this first-round clash with the Mavericks is 10 days of forgotten fun if you prefer a series with some spice, even if it lacks sustained competition.

The Thunder were considered clear favorites for an obvious reason: Durant and Russell Westbrook were 27, middling and hungry. Dirk Nowitzki was 37 years old, still the leading scorer with six seeded players, but no longer an All-Star nor surrounded by one. The four other Dallas starters in the series opener were Raymond Felton, Wesley Matthews, Justin Anderson and Zaza Pachulia.

Game 1 went as expected. Durant and Westbrook combined for 69 points. They cruised. It was like a yawn. But Game 2 brought some life into the series, starting with about 45 seconds left before tipoff.

Westbrook and Cameron Payne, then a rookie largely out of the Thunder's rotation, had months earlier turned their pregame handshake into a dance routine. Dallas' Charlie Villanueva, an 11-year veteran in his final season, decided to shake things up. He went right into the action and created the first real tension of the series.

This appeared to be part of Dallas' strategy to increase the pressure and physicality. They made it through Game 2, holding the Thunder to 84 points. Durant shot 7 of 33. Those 26 misses remain the most Durant has had in a single game in his entire career.

Regardless, the Thunder almost won. For about 30 seconds they did. After Felton missed a free throw with 7.1 seconds left and the Mavericks led 85-84, Durant and Westbrook pushed the ball in transition. Both had the chance to get starting shots at the rim. Both missed the ball, but Adams deflected the ball at the buzzer. It was a good decision at first, giving the Thunder a 2-0 series lead.

But officials checked. The ball still touched Adams' fingertips at the buzzer. This is as close as it gets.

After the game, Westbrook and Durant — who were holding joint press conferences at the time — were asked if Villanueva had sent a message.

“No,” Durant said. “This is fake shit.”

“Yeah. This is fake,” Westbrook said. “This is for the guys who aren't playing. I have to do something.”

The series shifted to Dallas three hours later, and the Thunder responded with the physicality and focus needed to regain control of the series. Oklahoma City defeated Dallas 131-102 in Game 3, which included some minor scuffles.

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle took particular offense to Durant elbowing backup center Salah Mejri at the free throw line and met with reporters between games to shine a spotlight on the matter.

Carlisle wasn't finished yet. He received a question from Berry Tramel, a longtime Oklahoma columnist, and used it as an opportunity to further develop his point in a creative way. Here's the back and forth.

Tram: “When you first played them, they were fresh sweethearts, so to speak. Now you have guys like Adams and (Serge) Ibaka – they get pretty dirty inside.”

Carlisle: “What's your name again?”

Tram: “Berry trammel.”

Carlisle: “Berry Tramel from The Oklahoman? And you just said that… (the Thunders) are dirty and what?”

Tram: “I said, now they’re going to get dirty.”

Carlisle: “Are you getting dirty? I just want to make sure you have this on record – you report on the team every day?”

Tram: “Not every day.”

Carlisle: “They said Adams and Ibaka were the two…”

Tram: “…and Ibaka are the two – I mean, they have…”

Carlisle: “You are initiators?”

Tram: “Initiators is a good word. Instigator.”

Carlisle: “That’s Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman, who reports on the team every day, saying that. How about anyone else on his team do that?”

Tram: “Everyone probably does it.”

Carlisle: “Everyone does it?”

Carlisle's tactics did nothing to change the inevitable outcome of the series. The Thunder beat the Mavericks by 11 points in Game 4 and 14 points in Game 5. Enes Freedom had a 28-point night off the OKC bench. Westbrook had 36 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists in the decisive game.

This last line was particularly notable considering the recent series of dramas. Mark Cuban, then majority owner of the Mavericks, held court with some Dallas reporters before Game 5. When asked about Nowitzki's supporting cast, Cuban said the Thunder only have one superstar, referring to Durant. He was asked if Westbrook qualified.

“I think he’s an All-Star, but not a superstar,” Cuban said.

This comment immediately made headlines and became The Topic of discussion after the game after Westbrook torched the Mavericks and ended the series. Westbrook was asked about Cuban's comment, but Durant, sitting next to him again, put his hand in front of Westbrook's microphone before he could respond.

“Wait,” Durant said. “He's an idiot. Don't listen to shh… He's an idiot. That's what we have to say. He's an idiot. Next question.”

Durant's strong public support for Westbrook, particularly locally, reinforced the belief that Durant never intended to leave the Thunder or his current co-star.

The postgame questions then turned to Villanueva, who engaged in a bit of verbal engagement with Westbrook to end the series after interrupting his dance routine in Game 2.

“He said a lot,” Westbrook said. “He was there.”

“He’s an idiot too,” Durant added.

“But now he can go home and do whatever he needs to do to get ready for next year, to sit down and watch 82 more games like he did this year,” Westbrook said.

The Mavericks lost their immediate relevance. They missed the playoffs the next three seasons, but brought in Luka Dončić to begin a quick rebuild. By the time they returned to the playoffs, the Thunder's first great era had ended, but they hit the eject button in time to get Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the draft picks and quickly build a contender again.

Now the two franchises, 206 miles apart, will meet again in the playoffs eight years later. The rosters are completely different, but the two teams have a chance to rekindle a rivalry that had some life when the teams led by Nowitzki and Durant met three times in a five-game playoff span over the past decade.

(Top photo: Wesley Hitt / Getty Images)

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