'Dangerous Situation': Luka's Mavs Blown Out By Curry's Warriors
DALLAS- After bouncing back from a long losing streak with a Wednesday win at the Atlanta Hawks, the Dallas Mavericks came home but fell back into the loss column on Thursday, losing 147-116 to the Golden State Warriors at the AAC.
For a time, the stars shined bright in Dallas, resulting in a shootout during the first half. But things fell apart from there. ... and after the game, the Mavs conducted yet another lengthy closed-door meeting.
What did they do?
They watched film.
Of what?
The disastrous third quarter they'd just finished playing.
The Mavericks were once again performing at full force, roster-wise, with forward Kristaps Porzingis back in the lineup for the second game of a back-to-back. The “Unicorn” had a fine game, finishing with 25 points.
But, said Porzingis, reflecting on a third-quarter collapse that featured Dallas getting outscored 36-20, "We want to be better than this, and we will be better than this.”
That promise feels a bit empty right now, but if we're searching for positives - and it's a deep search - after a rough game from deep against the Hawks (13-of-40), Dallas improved its accuracy from the three-point line, shooting 20-of-50.
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Meanwhile, though, two-time MVP Stephen Curry continued his impressive performance this season, torching the Mavericks with 28 points and six assists.
Not only did Curry come out on top Thursday night, he currently sits in first place among Western Conference guards for the All-Star voting—right in front of Luka Doncic, who had 27 points.
Kelly Oubre Jr., who had a career-high game with 40 points and eight rebounds, provided Curry with significant assistance on a Warriors team that was limited to playing SmallBall.
Ultimately it wasn’t enough to tip the scales, but guard Jalen Brunson played well off the bench, contributing 18 points and four rebounds.
Once again, the Mavericks will need to bounce back. Next up, the Mavs (9-14) will stay home to face the Warriors (12-10) again on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m. CT, before hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday evening.
And the threat figures to remain the same.
“The nature of NBA basketball is to fall into a shot-trade type of back and forth when you’re hitting shots and when the other team is hitting shots,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “It just feels like the game is flowing and one team can outscore the other.
“It’s a very dangerous situation to get in, especially with a team like Golden State, which is highly-skilled.”
CONTINUE READING: Mavs End Losing Streak in 122-116 Win Over Hawks
