The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Golden State Warriors Thursday night, winning 123-115. The win brings the Mavericks’ record to 19-26. The Warriors drop to 25-21. Steph Curry led all scorers with 38 points, while Naji Marshall led Dallas with 30.
The game started about an hour earlier than most Mavericks home games, and the disruption in the schedule seemed to throw both teams. The Warriors didn’t score until 8:32 left in the first quarter, when a Steph Curry 3-pointer finally got them on the board.
The Mavericks didn’t fare much better, though, only able to open a 6-0 lead in that time. The teams finally found some offensive rhythm midway through the first quarter, but couldn’t sustain it. The Warriors continued to miss shots in the second quarter, but found their way to the line. The Mavericks started hitting some shots, but kept turning the ball over. With some tough rebounding and getting out on fast breaks often, Dallas was able to grind out a 55-50 lead at halftime.
The Warriors came out firing in the third quarter and took the lead, but couldn’t keep the momentum going. The Mavericks looked like the better team for a large stretch of the third. The only problem was Steph Curry. He simply decided Golden State wasn’t going to roll over and unleashed a flurry of shots, scoring 13 points in the quarter. His offensive burst opened things up for his teammates, and by the end of the third, the Warriors had flipped the Mavericks’ five-point lead and went up 89-84.
Dallas refused to quit, though. They muddied up the game and then got their own momentum, taking a big lead halfway through the fourth quarter. The constant pressure from the Mavericks seemed to wear down the Warriors, who suddenly couldn’t score or get a stop. The Mavericks took a double-digit lead with a 24-5 run. Once they had the lead, Dallas just grinded out the last four minutes, taking home the win.
Here are three thoughts from the game:
Cooper’s complete game
Halfway through Flagg’s rookie season, it’s becoming obvious that he’s got a well-rounded game. He does a little of everything on the stat sheet, and some things that don’t show up in the box score. That was on full display tonight. To go along with his 21 points, he also put up 11 rebounds, two assists, and a steal. He was active on defense all night and put pressure on the Warriors when he had the ball. The only thing really missing from his game right now is consistent 3-point shooting. There’s no reason to think he won’t figure that out. The great ones have an almost supernatural ability to sharpen the weak edges in their game, and Flagg is showing some glaring potential of greatness.
Sloppy play almost gave the game away
The Mavericks played better than the Warriors for most of the game tonight. They dominated the boards, scored more points on fast breaks and in the paint, and shot better. But they almost gave the game away because they couldn’t stop giving the ball away. They turned the ball over 21 times tonight, conceding 21 points off those give aways. They tightened it up in the fourth quarter when they went on the run to take over the game, but still turned it over five times in the last period. (Some of those were in absolute garbage time.) Once they held onto the ball, they took a commanding lead and coasted to the win.
The Mavericks need a veteran point guard
Ryan Nembhard and Brandon Williams are fun players. I’ve enjoyed watching them this year, and I hope at least one of them is on the team for a couple years. But the Mavericks need a veteran point guard who can run the offense and make the offense easier for the rest of the team. Especially for Flagg. Nembhard and Williams just don’t have the experience, and it shows at times. The offense becomes disjointed and inconsistent for stretches, and with the close games the Mavericks play, those stretches of stalled offense are the difference between wins and losses. It’s much too early to start thinking of specific players, but it’s something Dallas front office should have on their mind this summer.
