Another win against a top Western Conference team! Thanks to a strong crunch time, the Dallas Mavericks prevailed against the Golden State Warriors with 122:113. The Mavs again gamble away a comfortable lead, but Luka Doncic and Spencer Dinwiddie save the Texans.
Dallas Mavericks (38-25) – Golden State Warriors (43-20) 122:113 (BOXSCORE)
Doncic started the game red hot, was also there with important goals in the final phase and ultimately only just missed the triple double. The 23-year-old had 41 points (15/26 FG and 4/10 threes), 10 rebounds and 9 assists. Dinwiddie also scored 7 of his 17 points in the closing stages.
The Mavs dominated the first half with their offense, shortly after the break the home side were even up to 17 points in front. But again they gambled away this lead, only the strong crunch time secured the ninth win from the past eleven games. Dorian Finney-Smith also showed a strong performance (18, 4/5 threes), and Dwight Powell (13 and 8 rebounds) also knew how to please in the absence of Maxi Kleber (ankle problems).
For the Warriors, who have now lost seven of their last nine games, Jordan Poole was the top scorer coming off the bench (23, 8/12 FG). Moses Moody (13, 5/5 FG) also put in a good performance, while Stephen Curry (21 and 9 assists, 4/5 trebles) was completely eliminated by Dallas in the fourth quarter. Klay Thompson scored 16 points after a two-game break, but also needed 17 shots (6 hits, 2/8 three-pointers).
The Mavs were much more accurate at the beginning than the guests from the west coast. In particular, the Warriors couldn’t get a grip on the newly crowned Western Conference Player of the Month Doncic. The Slovenian showed good attacks towards the zone, hit his threes and ended the first quarter with a personal 8:2 run. Doncic already had 19 points and the Mavs had a 38:27 lead.
Mavs give leadership – and win in the end
Good defense plus several triples also gave Dallas a good start in the second period. Finney-Smith now had the hot hand (3/3 three in the second quarter). Dallas pulled away by 16 points, and in addition to the strong shooting, the home side kept finding Powell under the basket against small opponents.
Although Golden State was still within striking distance thanks to several offensive rebounds, Doncic regained a comfortable lead shortly before the half-time break (68:54). The Mavs offense made very good throws in the first half and felt like they got everything they wanted. Dallas gave away 18 assists from 23 successful field goals and hit 57.5 percent from the field and 61.1 percent from long range (11/18 three-pointers).
After the break, a three-pointer from Thompson that didn’t exactly look intentional got the Splash Brothers going. Dallas, on the other hand, came out cold from the break (1/7 three), another Klay triple put the Warriors at -7. Afterwards, however, the Mavs offense caught up again, and the third quarter degenerated into a shootout at times. It was 99:91 for Dallas in the final section.
After two and a half minutes without points in the last round, Doncic came back onto the floor a little earlier than usual. He sank a one-legged fadeaway straight away, but Golden State continued to shorten. Even more: In the middle of the quarter, after a controversial call against Dallas, Moody welded two triples in a row through the trap and the game was even (104:104).
Now Dinwiddie and Doncic took charge of the Mavs offense. Both attacked Curry mercilessly, both sinking important buckets. Dallas, on the other hand, used double teams to force the ball out of Chef’s hands (no shot attempt in the fourth quarter—a career unheard of when he played the entire ending), but Moody kept the dubs within striking distance. A strong drive from Finney-Smith took Dallas to +7 with a minute left, then Golden State missed a three and Powell made it clear at the other end: Victory for the Mavs!
