Luka Doncic's 39 Points & 10 Assists Lead Mavs to Road Win vs. Warriors
SAN FRANCISCO — Coming off a loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves without Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving in the lineup, the Dallas Mavericks sought to bounce back against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. Doncic set the tone with 39 points, eight rebounds, and 10 assists, shooting 14-29 from the floor, 5-13 from the perimeter, and 6-7 on free throws. The Mavs won 132-122 and improved to 19-14 on the season. Meanwhile, the Dubs dropped to 15-17.
Doncic needed a pre-game workout to determine his availability after entering the day due to left quad soreness. He ultimately played, but Irving and Maxi Kleber were ruled out, while Draymond Green remained out due to an indefinite NBA suspension.
“Well yeah I tried it, actually in the first half it was really good," Doncic said. "The third quarter is when I started feeling it again, but you know, that’s why I warm up to see how it is.”
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The Warriors emphasized trying to contain Doncic by switching at the point of attack, sending help rotations using an early low man, and showing help at the nail when necessary. It contrasted the standard approach teams have recently used by blitzing and double-teaming early to get the ball out of his hands. Doncic was hot early from deep, converting three makes to make the defense pay.
“He is shooting better. In the past, he was 34 from three, and you’d go into the game, and you’d trust the numbers, it would seem that he would make a bunch of threes, but you could at least lean into, alright, he’s 34 percent we’re not going to chase him off the line," Kerr said. "But now he’s at 38, and that’s a pretty dramatic difference, so this is probably the best he’s ever played because of the consistency of that 3-point shot feeds in so well to set up the rest of his game.”
With the Warriors deploying small-ball personnel with Trayce Jackson-Davis at center, the Mavs had to account for the challenges of Stephen Curry playing out of handoff actions, with the offense flowing into multiple actions. It was the first time Dereck Lively II encountered this matchup, but he handled it well throughout the game. Dallas sometimes had issues finishing plays by not accounting for weak-side crashers and cutters. Dallas went on to give up a total of 16 offensive rebounds on the night, along with 24 points from cuts.
"Yeah, this is probably the first time that he's seen something like this,' Kidd said of Lively facing the Warriors. "So this will be a great test for him to recognize who's coming off the screen, if it's Klay or Steph, just understanding the depth that they can shoot the ball. So if you think you're up, you know, you might not be up far enough. This will be a great opportunity to go through this against some good shooters."
Even after Kevon Looney checked into the game, the Warriors put a small on Lively to neutralize the advantage of potentially bringing him up into a screening action. However, the Warriors threw out a 3-2 zone late in the first quarter to give Doncic a different look, but the Mavs still led 34-26 at the end of the first quarter.
Without Doncic on the floor, hot perimeter shooting from Grant Williams and Dante Exum was instrumental in pushing the lead to 12, capped off by Jaden Hardy countering a hedge in double drag for a mid-range step-back. Stephen Curry checked back into the game to provide a spark, but the Mavs still led by double figures when Doncic returned to action. Curry led a 12-0 run to rally the Warriors back 49-45 with 3:09 remaining in the first half.
"Yeah, you look at, they’re a team that’s gonna go on a run and how do we handle the run," Kidd said. "We had a 16-point lead, going to, and they made a run, I thought the guys stayed together then. Again, just staying the course trusting one another. I thought Grant (Williams) was great, our bench, DP (Dwight Powell), those guys played well. Timmy (Tim Hardaway Jr.) played well. And I think again, just trust and make that extra pass. We talked about Josh, Josh gave us a big push off the bench.”
The Warriors began doubling Doncic early in possessions late in the second quarter, enabling the Mavs to accept the coverage and play advantage basketball by hitting the short roller with the pass. Dallas got creative, running a Zoom action for Doncic, leading to a wide-open corner 3-pointer for Exum, pushing the lead back to double figures (60-48) with 1:12 left in the half. A screen at midcourt by Lively flowing into a re-screen prevented a trap, resulting in an and-one on a lob. A baseline jumper from Chris Paul on an isolation possession before the half ended cut the Mavs' lead to 63-54 after the team had been up by 10 or more often.
"We tried to mix it up on him," Kerr said. "We single-covered him, we switched, we hit him. We tried a lot of different things, but he is a brilliant player and had a phenomenal game. ... We weren't communicating. We had some good stretches when we were getting stops ... and then our communication broke down."
With Doncic struggling to get into the paint in the first half, given how the Warriors were loading up, the Mavs began deploying multiple screening actions to open things up for him. He successfully attacked space downhill, whether getting a paint finish or a mid-range jumper. Exum and Hardy each had a finish at the rim playing off the catch as a release valve for Doncic, and then Lively later had a jump hook to finish a play.
“Just felt like maybe the energy was off. I know that they’re a better team if Luka gets 10-or-more assists, I think they’re 10-3 now, eight-and-eight when he doesn't, and he had more than 10 assists tonight," Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski said. "Going in just trying to make him more of a scorer and not let other guys get touches, get a rhythm, but some screwed up coverages here and there kind of hurt us.”
Doncic made a step-back 3-pointer after going through a drought from deep, showing signs of relief when it went through the net. The shot put the Mavs up 80-67 midway through the period, sustaining an advantage the Mavs continued to hold. Shortly after, he dialed another against Looney on a switch, stifling the Warriors from manufacturing any meaningful momentum.
The Warriors began doubling Doncic again, prompting the Mavs to use him as an off-ball screener, leveraging the attention he commands to open up a teammate. Tim Hardaway Jr. took advantage, coming off a pindown into a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer, answering Brandin Podziemski's made triple that previously cut Dallas' lead to single figures. A four-point play from Josh Green further sustained momentum, pushing the team's advantage to 15 points. The Mavs' supporting cast made timely plays to punish the Warriors' focus on Doncic.
“We talked about it this morning. I thought in Minnesota we kind of came across something that we want to try to get better at, that’s body movement and ball movement," Kidd said. "Not just relying on Luka and Ky (Kyrie Irving) to bail us out. It’s a luxury being able to have Luka play pick-and-roll and be able to get double-teamed but I thought being able to screen for each other, to be physical on the offensive end, setting screens, and being unselfish was a carryover from the Minnesota game.”
While the Warriors scored 35 points in the third quarter, the Mavs' hot offensive production outpaced them with 38, setting up a 101-89 edge at the start of the final period. With Doncic on the bench to begin the final frame, Exum initiated the offense, and Dallas sustained its lead. However, after Doncic and Green returned, a made 3-pointer from Curry at the 8:09 mark of the final period cut the Mavs' advantage to just seven points (108-101) after getting a clean look in transition. Dallas struggled to contain the Warriors in transition all night, giving up 25 transition points overall.
While the Warriors continued to make pushes, the Mavs regained a 117-106 advantage with 5:13 to play after Doncic made a one-legged jumper in mid-range, then Hardy hit a corner 3-pointer in transition, prompting Golden State to call a timeout. Doncic had comfortably figured out the Warriors' defense, converting on numerous momentum-killing step-back jumpers from mid-range against switches to sustain the edge.
"I think the analytics these days, they don't like the [short-range] shot, it's a big shot," Doncic said. "All of the great players have it. So, I'm just trying to work on it."
Curry made a 3-pointer, then the Warriors forced a steal against a broken-down Zoom action led to a turnover, creating a transition look for Paul that he made from deep, bringing the Warriors within five points (119-114). Doncic answered after going to the line, drawing a foul, and making both attempts.
While the Warriors made a few pushes, they couldn't quite rally back to achieve the victory. Hardaway countered the defense that tried to double Doncic by making a tough mid-range shot as the weak-side relief option. Another foul sent Doncic to the line with the Mavs in the bonus, and he made both, pushing Dallas up by nine points (124-116) with 1:51 left to play.
While continuing to accept double teams, Doncic gave the ball up, and his teammates continued to deliver, with Exum driving down the middle of the floor for a scoop finish, creating an eight-point lead (127-119) with over a minute left. Golden State could not rally back, with Dallas having an answer for its coverages and getting stops when needed.
In addition to Doncic's big performance, the Mavs received various standout performances. Lively totaled 12 points, 14 rebounds, and one assist in 35 minutes, only committing two fouls after dealing with foul trouble in his previous game. Exum was the second-leading scorer with 19 points and dished out five assists. Josh Green had 18 points and two assists off the bench, while Tim Hardaway Jr. had 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
"I think I’ve always been the guy just waiting for my turn, trying to be the best teammate I can be," Green said. "I think a part of that is also, I need to understand that I can’t pass up open shots and do that. So, I just came out aggressive, and I knew it was gonna take some games, you know, coming off an injury to get back into rhythm and whatnot. ... I just try to be aggressive, and I trust myself, shooting, and so does the team. So, I need to make sure that I display that.”
Derrick Jones Jr. may not have had colossal box score numbers, as he totaled seven points, five rebounds, two steals, and one block, but he was among the defenders to disrupt Curry's rhythm throughout the night with his on-ball defense. Williams also scored 10. Hardy had some timely scoring chances despite an off-night from distance, adding nine points.
The Warriors were led by Curry's 25 points and seven assists, but he shot 9-25 overall to get there. Paul heated up as the game progressed, providing 24 points and six assists, joining Curry as making six 3-pointers. There were other strong performances, including Davis' 17 points, six rebounds, and two assists, who offered versatility in small-ball lineups trying to hold his own with switching. With Klay Thompson being held to three points on 1-11 shooting from the floor and 1-6 from deep, there wasn't enough firepower.
Jonathan Kuminga, who often guarded Doncic, added 16 points, nine rebounds, and three assists. Golden State also received double-figure scoring nights off the bench from Andrew Wiggins, who checked Doncic at times and scored 14 points with five rebounds and four assists, while receiving 13 points, nine rebounds, and four assists from Podziemski.
The Mavs will complete their three-game road trip with a matchup against the Utah Jazz on Monday.
