Luka Doncic was 3 rebounds off of a 40-point triple double, 6 Mavs hit double figures as the Dallas Mavericks overcome Steph Curry’s 57 to beat the Warriors 134-132 on Saturday night. Doncic and two-time MVP Curry put on a show, combining for 99 points and trading clutch buckets down the stretch.
Andrew Wiggins added 22, Kent Bazemore chipped in 20 off the bench, but the Warriors fell just short in the final seconds. Draymond Green had his second game in a row with 15 assists and six rebounds. The ninth-year forward added six steals and four blocks in the losing effort.
Every Mavericks starter scored at least 10 points, Kristaps Porzingis’ 18-point double double being the most behind Doncic’s 42. Doncic added 11 assists and 7 rebounds to round out another excellent outing for the third year man.
The first quarter saw a hot start from both teams. The Mavericks jumped out to an astounding 18-2 lead in just five minutes. The Warriors could not be kept down, though, cutting the lead to just four points by the end of the first frame.
The Warriors were led by Curry, who put up 11 in the quarter. Bazemore joined Curry from off the bench, going a perfect 4-4 with 12 first quarter points.
The second quarter saw a continuation of a high-scoring, back-and-forth battle from the first. The Mavericks scored 37, taking an eight point lead into the halftime break, 72-64.
Luka Doncic put up a 21 point, five rebound, five assist first half. As usual, Doncic led the Mavericks in scoring, and entered the break on pace for his league-leading seventh triple double of the season.
Despite bringing a deficit into the break, it was the Warriors star guard that was the highest scorer of the half. Curry dropped a 30-piece in the first half, hitting seven threes along the way.
Curry stayed hot in the third, dropping 16 of the Warriors 37 points in the quarter.
The final five minutes of the game saw an exciting finish to the high scoring affair. With 44.5 seconds remaining, Luka hit a long three that gave the Mavericks a seven point lead, and seemed to be the dagger. A crazy sequence, however, kept the Warriors in the game late.
Curry hit an incredible cross over three to cut the lead to four. A pivotal challenge, and subsequent call overturning gave the Warriors the ball once again. Curry quickly drove the lane and made an up-and-under, and-1 layup. He converted the three-point play and suddenly the Mavericks led by just one. With 28.6 seconds remaining, the Warriors chose to play out a possession of defense. As the shot clock wound down, Luka found Maxi Kleber on the left wing for a catch-and-shoot three point dagger to give the Mavericks a four point lead. The three gave Kleber 16 points to go along with eight rebounds and four assists.
Six seconds of defense closed out the game for the Mavericks, giving them a much needed win. With just their second win in the last 10 games, the Mavericks hope to build on a solid outing.
“We just gotta keep playing like this on the defensive end,” Luka told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols. “Keep putting in the work, it starts on defense.”
The Mavericks will have the perfect opportunity to get back on track with a five game remaining in their homestand.
The Warriors will now look to rebound from their loss with back-to-back games in San Antonio.
