Stephen Curry got whatever he wanted at American Airlines Center on Thursday, but the Dallas Mavericks (19-26) pulled ahead late in a back-and-forth game to beat the Golden State Warriors (25-21), 123-115. Curry nailed eight 3-pointers and led all scorers with 38 points in the loss, but Cormac Karl “Max” Christie and Naji Marshall keyed a late 24-5 run that proved too much for the Warriors overcome.
Marshall led the Mavs with 30 points on an insane 10-of-12 shooting night to go along with nine assists
in the win, while Christie and rookie sensation Cooper Flagg added 21 apiece in a well-rounded and highly satisfying Dallas win. The Mavs overcame 22 turnovers by shooting 51% from the field on their way to the win, which is the team’s sixth in its last nine.
Cooper Flagg: B+
20 PTS / 11 REB / 1 AST / 1 STL / 30 MIN
Flagg was the only defender back early in the first quarter and snuffed out Draymond Green’s transition try before taking the ensuing outlet pass coast-to-coast for the game’s first score and a three-point play opportunity. Two possessions later, he pulled up from near the foul line for a jumper that put the Mavericks up 6-0. Flagg missed his first three tries from 3-point range, though.
Flagg’s turnover on the first possession of the second quarter was the Mavericks’ eighth of the game and led directly to an easy transition dunk from Quinten Post to give the Warriors a 29-24 lead. Two minutes later, Green drew a charge against Flagg on Flagg’s drive through traffic, but Flagg followed Thompson’s missed 3-pointer the next time down for a highlight put-back jam to give the Mavericks a 31-29 lead with 9:20 left before the half. Less than a minute later, Flagg followed Max Christie’s miss in transition with another putback bucket as part of a 12-4 Mavs’ run to open the second. Flagg scored the bucket that gave the Mavs back the lead late in the second as part of another quick 12-0 Dallas run. He scored 11 points and pulled down 9 boards in the first half, as the Mavericks took a 55-50 lead into the break.
After a quiet third quarter, Flagg knocked down his first 3-pointer of the game early in the fourth to bring the Mavs to within 92-89. He made a hard drive to the cup a minute later to keep Dallas connected, down 96-91, then got fouled while rising up for a monster slam the next time down. He turned the ball over four times and went just 4-of-7 from the free-throw line in the win.
Max Christie: A
21 PTS / 4 REB / 2 AST / 1 STL / 36 MIN
Christie lost Steph Curry in the screen game along the perimeter on two of Curry’s three makes from 3-point range in the first quarter. After Curry’s third, Christie cashed in his first 3-pointer on the other end to give the Mavs a 14-9 lead midway through the first. He hit another late in the second from the right corner to pull the Mavs to within 45-44. His third of the first half came with under a minute to play in the second, from the same spot, and extended the Dallas lead to 51-45.
Christie’s fourth 3-ball of the game was another big one with 5:42 left in the third. He rose up from the right wing on a find from P.J. Washington for the score that put the Mavericks up 70-69. He knifed through the lane for his first two-point score of the game less than a minute later to extend that lead to 72-69.
Christie scored his 15th and 16th points of the game on the Mavericks’ second possession of the fourth quarter, a touch bucket inside that pulled the Mavs to within 89-86. He stepped on the sideline while pump-faking a shot in the corner for Dallas’ 18th turnover of the ballgame with 10 minutes left to play. His fifth 3-ball of the contest came as part of a key 10-0 spurt from the Mavs and tied the game, 96-96, with 8:26 left in the game.
Caleb Martin: D+
0 PTS / 2 REB / 1 AST / 2 BLK / 20 MIN
Martin threw away a terrible pass in transition late in the first quarter, then was called for a hook and an offensive foul on the Mavs’ next possession with 3:45 left in the opener. The Warriors took their first lead of the game on the other end as a result, on Jonathan Kuminga’s first two buckets in the Warriors’ last 16 games. Martin got his transition dunk attempt blocked by Buddy Hield with two minutes left in the first to continue his rough start.
Martin started the third quarter, but Mavs head coach Jason Kidd kept him on a much shorter leash in favor of Brandon Williams, who played a brilliant first half against the Warriors.
Naji Marshall: A+
30 PTS / 9 REB / 7 AST / 34 MIN
Marshall was called for a technical foul midway through the second quarter after DeAnthony Melton scored in transition, then lost the ball on the Mavs’ next possession for Dallas’ 11th turnover of the game. He was late getting out to defend Moses Moody along the perimeter on the next Warriors’ possession and gave up a 3-pointer that put Golden State in front, 43-39 with less than five minutes to play before halftime. The lane opened up for Marshall on a drive in secondary transition less than a minute later, and his score brought Dallas to within 45-41.
Marshall picked up his 15th and 16th points of the game on a little flip inside midway through the third to bring Dallas to within 69-67. He hit his first 3-pointer of the game with 2:45 left in the third from the right corner to put the Mavericks ahead 82-77. He scored back-to-back buckets inside as part of a late 12-0 run that extended the Mavs’ lead late to 113-101.
Dwight Powell: A+
10 PTS / 12 REB / 1 AST / 27 MIN
Powell grabbed eight rebounds in the first half (three on the offensive glass) on his way to XX in the loss. His try-hard modus is as laudable in his 12th season as it was when he got here. Powell slipped past Green, who lost sight of Powell with the ball in his hands, with 7:20 left in the third quarter for his second bucket of the game to keep the Mavs within four after Golden State scored the first eight points of the second half.
Powell’s 3-point play in transition from Marshall with 5:54 remaining put the Mavs up 109-101 and was a huge moment in the back-and-forth affair. It also gave him a double-double on the night. Powell absolutely outworked Green on both ends of the floor as Green fouled out of the game with 3:50 left to play.
Klay Thompson: C-
6 PTS / 6 REB / 0 AST / 1 STL / 23 MIN
Thompson was quiet in the first quarter, bricking his first 3-point attempt from the top of the key nine minutes into the game, before getting his pocket picked the next time down. He turned it over again with a minute left in the first on a play that led to a bucket from Brandon Podziemski on the other end as Golden State took a 27-24 lead at the end of one.
Thompson cashed in his first two 3-point attempts of the second quarter to key the Mavericks’ 12-4 run to start the frame. He went quiet in the third quarter, though, as Golden State pulled back in front late in the frame.
Ryan Nembhard: C+
5 PTS / 2 REB / 3 AST / 1 STL / 12 MIN
Nembhard was used sparingly, shooting just 1-of-4 from the field in the first half. He turned the ball over on a surprise attack trap to start the fourth, the Mavs’ 17th giveaway of the game. Nembhard canned a step-back 3-pointer near the top of the key with 7:45 left to play to swing Dallas back in front, 99-96.
Moussa Cisse: C
1 PTS / 1 REB / 1 STL / 6 MIN
Cisse saw most of his action in the first half and was a non-factor for the most part against the Warriors, as Powell stole the show.
Brandon Williams: A
19 PTS / 5 REB / 4 AST / 27 MIN
Williams was a blur driving through the lane off the bench against Golden State in the first half. He scored 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting and was decisive on his drives, darting to the hoop past whatever defender was in front of him. His driving bucket split two defenders as the last few seconds of the first half ticked down, and his leaner in the lane gave Dallas its 55-50 lead at the interval.
Williams got to the free-throw line on yet another drive with 4:47 left in the third and the game tied at 72-72 but made just 1-of-2 at the stripe. He came into Thursday having scored 15 or more points in seven of his last 10 games. Williams used a clever little crossover dribble to get to the line again the next time down and cashed in both this time to put the Mavs ahead 75-72. He finished off a lob from Marshall with 3:45 left in the third on a high-flying bucket, before stepping back for a perimeter jumper to put Dallas up 79-72. He was late to get to Melton on a corner 3-pointer that tied the pulled the Warriors back in front, 85-82, with 1:44 left in the third and forced a timeout from Mavericks’ head coach Jason Kidd.
P.J. Washington: B-
10 PTS / 6 REB / 3 AST / 2 STL / 3 BLK / 22 MIN
Washington came in off the bench in the first quarter and got his first bucket on a tough offensive rebound in the lane with 3:30 left in the opener. He hit his only 3-point attempt of the first half, but didn’t have an outsized impact on the proceedings other than that. Washington’s steal as the only man back led to the Max Christie 3-pointer that pulled the Mavs back in front, 70-69, with 5:42 left in the third quarter. His well-defended dunk attempt that somehow fell after teetering on the rim for a second or two brought the Mavs to within 85-84 with just over a minute left in the third. He was tenacious on the defensive end, contributing five stocks in the win.
