Dallas spoiled the party on Sunday night on the floor of the Warriors (107-101). For its first home game after the All-Star Game break, Golden State began by honoring All-Star Game MVP Stephen Curry with a three-point shooting record (16). The point guard again received his trophy, this time from Vince Carter before kick-off.
“Chef Curry” logically had less success than at the All-Star Game in Cleveland. But even without sidekick Klay Thompson (ill), the former regular-season MVP helped the Warriors build a comfortable lead midway through the third quarter.
Early in the third quarter, Curry first saw one of his shots from behind the arc blocked by Reggie Bullock. A very rare event in the NBA. But the Warriors recovered the ball and with a second to play, Curry’s second attempt hit the mark, giving his team a 21-point lead (73-52, 27th). With the contribution of another All-Star, Andrew Wiggins (18 points), Golden State led by 19 points ten minutes from the buzzer.
Dinwiddie sounds the revolt
But the Warriors’ lead melted away within minutes, spurred on by a new Mavericks header. Arrived on February 10, in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis, Spencer Dinwiddie has already been adopted by fans of the Texas franchise. The former Washington point guard, now sixth man in Dallas, sounded the revolt, with drives to the circle and award-winning shots, to bring his team back to possession (93-90, 42nd).
Dorian Finney-Smith restored the advantage to the Mavericks before Dinwiddie, served by Luka Doncic (34 points, 11 rebounds), planted a decisive award-winning shot 1’43 “from the end of the match (94-100, 46th) KO standing in front of his audience, Golden State regained hope with a long shot from Stephen Curry but Luka Doncic did not shake on the free throw line to secure the victory for Texas.
The winner in California, the Slovenian offers himself a nice birthday present, he will blow out his 23 candles this Monday. «You almost made a triple-double “, teased his coach Jason Kidd, in reference to the nine losses of bullets from Doncic. Nine possessions returned to the Warriors which did not prevent Dallas (35 wins – 25 losses) from winning and remaining in fifth position in the Western Conference. Golden State (43-17) keeps its second place but finds itself threatened by Memphis (42-20).
