Mavs Defeat Warriors
DALLAS — The Golden State Warriors’ first game without NBA MVP Stephen Curry didn’t go well.
The Dallas Mavericks took full advantage of Curry sitting out with a lower left leg injury.
The Mavericks bolted to an early 17-point lead and led by as many as 30 in the 114-91 victory on Wednesday night at American Airlines Center.
An MRI taken Wednesday on Curry’s leg revealed no structural damage. Golden State opted to be cautious and hold him out. Curry will be a game-time decision on Thursday when the Warriors play at the Houston Rockets.
Dallas, winners of four in a row to improve to 19-13, led 60-42 at the half behind hot 3-point shooting and easy looks at the basket.
Golden State hadn’t been in that position all season, facing its largest halftime deficit. The Warriors trailed the Los Angeles Clippers by 14 points on Nov. 19 but roared back to win. In that game, Golden State had Curry, who finished with a game-high 40 points.
In this one, Curry was a helpless bystander and assistant coach Luke Walton, who continues to fill in for Kerr, basically was, too. He also had few options to turn to with forward Harrison Barnes, reserve guard Leandro Barbosa and reserve center Festus Ezeli all sidelined by injury.
“With a team like us, outside looking in, it’s easy to take things for granted,” Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala said. “And then when you lose, people ask, how did you lose? When you play in the NBA, every team has an
opportunity to win and every win is really hard. They are capable of winning any night, and tonight they came out with a win.”
Golden State needed guard Klay Thompson to step up and he had one of his worst nights of the season, going 4 of 15 from the floor, 1 of 4 on 3s and 1 of 2 from the free throw line for 10 points, his lowest output since Nov. 11. The Warriors didn’t have three players score in double figures until the final 90 seconds of the third quarter.
“That’s 30 points and a playmaker gone,” Thompson said of Curry’s absence. “We just have to collectively try to chip in, if it’s on the defensive end or offensively; move the ball and trust each other. We had great looks tonight but it was just one of those nights. That happens over 82 games so there is no need to panic.
“We have another big game tomorrow and like I said before, that’s the beauty of this league, that you can go out and redeem yourself.”
Not only did the Golden State offense stall without Curry running the show — with 40.7 percent shooting from the floor and just seven made 3-pointers — defensively it played uncharacteristically passive, giving Dallas easy looks at the rim.
Thirty-two of the Mavs’ 60 first-half points came in the paint, where they held a 22-point advantage at that point.
That didn’t change much in the third quarter as Dallas quickly opened a 70-46 lead that ballooned to 83-53 with less than five minutes left in the quarter.
“I mean, everyone was excited for this game, everyone was waiting for this game,” said Mavs center ZaZa Pachulia, who recorded his 17th double-double of the season with 14 points and 15 rebounds. “Last game of the year, playing against the world champs, not only is Steph Curry hard to beat, but they are a hell of a team. The players, the way they move the basketball, record is amazing, so we were all hyped up about tonight’s game. From beginning of the game, the energy and effort was there.”
The Mavs jumped on the Warriors early and kept the pressure on. Guard J.J. Barea, making his fourth consecutive start in place of injured Deron Williams, scored a game-high 23 points that included a Curry-like 5 of 7 from beyond the arc and six assists.
Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points and eight rebounds, and guards Wesley Matthews and Devin Harris each had 13 points and combined to go 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.
Dallas went 14-of-27 on 3s for a 21-point advantage.
“I thought that our guys did a very good job of staying focused even though Curry didn’t play,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. “I stressed to them this morning that there was a chance that he wouldn’t play, and if he didn’t, that we did not have any kind of emotional letdown. We knew the building was going to be full and that the people were going to be into it, but the rest of their team is a great team.”
The Warriors finished with five players in double figures. Reserve guard Ian Clark finished with 21 points after some garbage-time baskets. Forward Marreese Speights and Iguodala each had 12 points off the bench. Forward Draymond Green was limited to 11 points and nine rebounds.
