Dallas Mavericks Prepare for a Last Stand DALLAS - Derek Fisher sat courtside Friday at American Airlines Center and soaked in the spectrum of perspective this particular piece of hardwood has come to represent in the past year. Last May, Fisher and the Los Angeles Lakers suffered the ignominy of being swept from the N.B.A. playoffs, ousted here in the Western Conference semifinals by an aging Dallas Mavericks team desperate to seize what was viewed as its last chance at a championship. Saturday night, Fisher and the Oklahoma City Thunder hope to complete a sweep of the Mavericks, a first-round dethronement that would rank among the most embarrassing series losses for a defending champion in league history. "They still have championship DNA," warned Fisher, who won five titles with the Lakers. I'm not going to assume these guys are ready to ride off into the sunset. They're not going to quit tomorrow. We're going to have to eliminate this team. They're not going to hand us advancing to the next round. The Mavericks clung to a stoic soundtrack Friday as they grasped at ways to attack and defend a Thunder team that has outmaneuvered them at every pivotal juncture. Game 3 turned into a 95-79 rout as Oklahoma City's defense suffocated the Mavericks into a combined 8-of-34 shooting in the second and third quarters. Their star core of Dirk Nowitzki (6 of 15), Jason Terry (3 of 10), Jason Kidd (4 of 12) and Shawn Marion (1 of led the futility and finished 14 of 45. Should Dallas lose Game 4, it would become the fourth team to be swept in a first-round playoff series the season after it won the title. On the flip side, no team has ever come from a 3-0 deficit to win a series. "I believe if we get one, anything can happen," said Mavericks forward Vince Carter. I really don't care what history says and I really don't care about numbers. At some point someone is going to defy the odds, so why not try for it? That might be wishful thinking given that Dallas is 1-6 this season against the Thunder, whom the Mavericks dispatched in five games last year in the Western Conference finals. With Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook as cornerstones, Oklahoma City appears built for the long term. In contrast, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban put down a futures bet for next season, jettisoning key players from their title run while speculating that his veteran-laden team's chances of repeating in this truncated season were slim. Most notably, he let go center Tyson Chandler, who took his inside power game to the Knicks and became this season's defensive player of the year. Lamar Odom, the league's sixth man of the year with the Lakers last season, was acquired to replace Chandler, but Odom proved a bad fit and was released. "I think they've done an admirable job, actually, in losing half of their team and still being competitive," said Fisher, who signed with the Thunder in March and has joined with James Harden in strengthening its depth. In Game 3, the two scored 10 points each coming off the bench. Still the Mavericks find themselves frustrated and on the brink of being swept in a seven-game series for the first time in franchise history. "They led the West most of the year," Dallas Coach Rick Carlisle said when asked if the Thunder have a championship chemistry. They're one of a handful of teams that is a true contender. And we're going to continue to view ourselves that way until we're not playing anymore. We have every intention of going out there tomorrow night and making a stand and defending our court.