Led by a stellar second half performance by their superstar Luka Doncic and newly acquired guard Spencer Dinwiddie, and a stifling final frame from their defense, the determined Dallas Mavericks overcame a large deficit on the road to produce a statement victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night.
Coach Jason Kidd’s post All-Star playoff plans for the Mavericks got off to a rough start with a Friday night loss to the Utah Jazz. When they dug an early hole Sunday night against the Warriors, things were in danger of going off the rails. However, Dallas dug deep, limiting Golden State to just 13 points in the fourth while scoring 33 points of their own to pull off a gritty 107-101 win.
Doncic led the way with 34 points and 11 rebounds, and Dinwiddie’s 24 points, his highest total since joining Dallas, on 10-of-14 shooting were a huge boost off the bench. Afterward, Coach Kidd discussed the changes the Mavs made to complete the comeback.
“We were not executing the game plan,” Jason said. “We had too many turnovers and against the number one defensive team in the league, if you don’t get shots it’s going to be tough. But the guys played 48 minutes.”
As Kidd alluded to, Dallas didn’t do themselves many favors in the turnover department, and that started in the first quarter, when they had a whopping six giveaways. One particularly rough sequence saw a bad pass from Doncic intercepted by Andrew Wiggins, who found Stephen Curry on the other end to push Golden State’s lead to 12, 24-12. Curry did a little bit of everything in the opening quarter offensively, scoring seven points while facilitating for his teammates as the Warriors pulled out to a 37-24 lead
after one.
The second quarter was a tight battle, as Dallas fought to cut their deficit but the teams kept exchanging baskets which made it difficult for the Mavs. With under five minutes left in the half, Dallas gained a little momentum. First, Dorian Finney-Smith found Reggie Bullock open for a three and shortly after, Doncic hit a jump shot, which cut the Warriors lead to six, 52-46. However, the Warriors charged right back with a 8-2 run to close out the first half, and went into halftime with a 12 point lead, 60-48.
Golden State carried that momentum over to the start of the third quarter, and with a 13-4 Warriors run, Dallas found themselves down 21 points, 73-52. In the face of adversity, the Mavs were determined to fight and stay in the game. Halfway through the quarter, Doncic hit a three-pointer that sparked a mini run for the Mavs. After a trip to the charity stripe for Finney-Smith and a couple of layups from Luka, Dallas finally cut their deficit to single digits, 79-70. However, Golden State once again closed the quarter with a surge while limiting Dallas to just two points in the final two minutes of the third quarter to rebuild a 14-point lead, 88-74.
The turning point was the final frame. The guard combo of Dinwiddie and Jalen Brunson made smart plays offensively at the start of the quarter, with Brunson contributing three early assists in the fourth while Dinwiddie created 10 points during a 15-5 Mavs 15-5 run that put Dallas within three, 93-90.
With under five minutes left in the game, Finney-Smith energized the entire Mavs team with key plays on both ends of the court. Brunson found him open for a corner three-pointer, which pulled Dallas within one. On the other end, Jordan Poole got around Finney-Smith, but as Poole went up to finish the layup, Finney-Smith recovered just in time and used his length to block Poole at the rim. Moments later, Finney-Smith gave Dallas a 95-94 lead with a tip-in of his own miss at the rim.
“The group, without Luka on the floor, was a positive. Spencer was big for us,” Coach Kidd said. “That group when we went small with Dorian at the five really gave us a chance to win.”
From there, Dallas took control and Luka closed with a flurry. The Mavs’ lone All-Star scored all nine of his fourth quarter points in the final 2:34 and led an 8-4 run, which gave Dallas a six-point lead, 104-98. Despite Curry hitting a deep three to pull the Warriors within three, the Mavs were able to successfully inbound the ball to Luka and he sealed the game at the free throw line.
“This is a character, environment [and] culture win for us in the sense that no one quit,” Coach Kidd said. “Everybody kept fighting and we found a way to win, and that’s what good teams do.”