Warriors' Lack of Execution Leads to 122-113 loss to Dallas Mavericks

The Golden State Warriors gave themselves a chance to stage a comeback win of their own but couldn't find a way to finish late on the road in Dallas

Despite finding themselves down by as many as 16 points, the Golden State Warriors had a chance to win late against the hosting Dallas Mavericks.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, however, poor late-game execution reared its ugly head once again. With a 122-113 loss to Dallas (38-25), Golden State (48-20) has now lost seven of its last nine games and is currently on a three-game losing streak.

“I thought we got a little frantic, for sure,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said after the game. “We came back and tied the game and were in a pretty good spot and just couldn’t quite finish the game.”

The inability to finish games has become a consistent narrative for the Warriors as of late. While it's typically come in the form of blown leads, mishaps, primarily defensively, have undoubtedly been the downfall for Golden State.

Thursday night, which came as an opportunity to avenge a squandered 21-point advantage to the Mavericks at Chase Center. It became clear early that Golden State was fighting an up-hill battle as Luka Doncic took control of the tilt.

Scoring 19 points, Doncic also recorded five rebounds and two assists in the first quarter alone. By the night’s end, the Mavericks star would finish the game with a game-high 41 points.

“You’ve got to be able to find creative ways to take him out,” Warriors guard Stephen Curry said. “He got off that first quarter and that gave him confidence the rest of the game.”

Golden State also found it hard rotating defensively as Dallas relied on its ability to drive deep in the paint and kick out to open three-point shooters. Shooting 45-percent from beyond the arc, Dallas out-shot the Warriors 17-15 from deep.

“A lot of mistakes in rotation,” Kerr said. “A lot of plays where we allowed penetration in areas where we’re supposed to have that covered.”

In addition to the poor defense, the Warriors also saw an off shooting night from Klay Thompson, who returned from an illness after missing two-straight games. Thompson was 6-for-17 from the field and scored 16 points in 28 minutes of play.

“I’ve gotta make some shots,” Thompson said. “I can’t be airballing, shooting off the side of the backboard. I have to be better.”

Late in the game, Golden State did find themselves with a chance to take the lead and perhaps challenge for a comeback win of their own. But giving up an 11-4 run late in the fourth quarter by being unable to execute defensively, the Warriors dropped another game.

With the loss, Golden State holds only a half-game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference and are 7.5 games behind the Phoenix Suns for the No. 1 seed.

“We’re going through it right now,” Kerr said. “We’re going to bounce back. We’re going to be fine. I know the character of our guys. They’re going to continue to compete.”