Names big and small step up
The Dallas Mavericks reversed their fortunes at home with a 111-107 win against the Golden State Warriors Wednesday. Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 42 points, while Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler paced the Warriors with 25 and 21, respectively.
In the first quarter Mavericks maintained a lead that grew to as many as six. The two small lineups battled as the Mavericks used a zone and other trickery to wall off the paint, but didn’t have an answer once someone got in there as Draymond Green waltzed in for layups, Kevon Looney pogoed for putbacks, and Brandin Podziemski penetrated with a jumper in the lane. One saving grace for Dallas was the Warriors’ trouble finishing at the rim, setting the tone for nine missed Warrior layups in the game.
The Mavericks responded in kind with little size or shot blocking to stop them; Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Naji Marshall all scored from the same spot a few feet from the block. Brandon Williams appeared poised to blow up with back-to-back threes, then airballed a third attempt. The quarter ended with Dallas in front, 32-21.
Dallas nursed its lead throughout the second quarter, led by Klay Thompson’s hot shooting, and Irving’s score with 4:57 ran it to a game-high 13 at 52-39. Max Christie’s late jumper a few minutes later seemed to bring the Maverick advantage back to 13 but was called back after video showed the ball still in his hand as the shot clock expired. From there the lead would shrink until a Green layup — what else — capped a Warriors 15-3 run to narrow the halftime gap at 57-56 Dallas.
Curry’s third foul with 11:35 to start the second half, a slide over on Christie as the shot clock seemed to expire, touched off a mini-Mavericks run highlighted by Irving’s and-one layup and Christie finding Kessler low to make it 62-56 with 11:02 remaining in the third quarter. Irving spent the third going completely berserk, converting back-to-back-to-back three-pointers in transition, pulling up, and off the catch to push the Mavericks to a 77-62 edge with 6:51 left in the quarter. Golden State used size from Looney and Gui Santos to get second and third chances and claw their way back to 83-78 at the end of three quarters.
Kyrie kept rolling as the final frame started with a drive and layup, and the Mavericks gradually rebuilt their lead, reaching 10 with 6:07 in the game as Max Christie finished through contact, 99-89. The Warriors fought back, taking several rebounds out of the hands of Edwards and Marshall under the basket, while on the other end Steph Curry finally found his rhythm from deep.
Kessler Edwards missed a corner three taken as the Warriors doubled up on Irving, then a Steph corner three at 3:31 gave the Warriors their first lead since 4-2, at 102-101. Irving again gave the Mavericks the lead, drawing a questionable foul on Moody on a rip through and Dallas once again began pushing the boulder up the hill, only to be stymied. Before long the first of Curry’s late foul shots tied the game at 107 with :37, but his miss with the second gave thee Mavericks new life as they reclaimed the lead on a Marshall floater on penetration off Edwards’ kick out, 109-107. Irving made sure his heroics would contribute to a win with a play on the other end that effectively sealed it, drawing an offensive foul on Jimmy Butler that nullified a make with 17.6 seconds left. The Warriors then took their time fouling Christie with 10.4 seconds left; his free throws gave Dallas a two-possession lead that ended up being superfluous, 111-107.
Kyrie Irving was heroic
Kyrie Irving was on one, going 15-of-25 from the field, including 7-of-10 from beyond the arc. Only eight Mavericks scored in this one, although the 17 points chipped in by both Thompson and Christie were significant. Irving did it from deep, at the rim, at the line, and on defense in a complete performance. In a game where the Mavericks were missing many familiar faces, the most famous one on the team led the way. A special player had a special night.
Next up man up
Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Kessler Edwards did not appear scared of the moment. Ready or not, they are both now NBA rotation players, and at times they looked the part. Both had their moments on the offensive end, with each totaling six assists, and neither shrunk from the challenge of having to guard every Warrior on the floor from Looney to Curry. That’s not to say there aren’t growing pains along the way, with both getting stopped at the rim by Green, but Edwards’ forceful block helped get things started out of halftime. One three-possession sequence from O-Max included a nice spin move into a lefty layup, then a lost dribble on post up that Kyrie recovered in the corner for a three, immediately before his tip and steal at midcourt gave him the ball to find Irving in transition for a layup.
Standing on business
This game had similar implications for the Warriors that Monday’s game did for the Kings; facing their injury-depleted neighbor in the standings made the Mavericks a must-win for both clubs. While the Mavericks ran out of gas in the extra frame against Sacramento, this time they finished the job in a game they also needed to win to maintain position in the playoff hunt. To their credit, these Mavericks don’t have any quit in them even after the turbulence of recent weeks.
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