DALLAS — The Golden State Warriors overcame a horrid defensive half and a 17-point deficit, but lost a thriller to the Dallas Mavericks, 122-113 on Thursday night at American Airlines Center.
Rookie Moses Moody’s 13 fourth-quarter points led a furious Warriors comeback that had them tied at 104 with just over six minutes left to play. But a spectacular performance from the other team’s star, Luka Doncic, trumped the comeback.
Dressed in street clothes, Draymond Green returned to the bench for some guidance. He was active, taking players aside and directing as best he could from afar. But his presence couldn’t help the Warriors’ porous defense in the first half.
Doncic led a Dallas attack on a Warriors defense unable to keep any Maverick player in front of them in the first half. Doncic led the Mavericks at the half with 24 points, including four 3-pointers. Dallas found easy points in the paint against an undersized Warriors team, but gained steam with easy kick outs beyond the arc. Doncic finished with 41 points.
Golden State emerged from the half energized and upped the intensity on defense. With a pair of quick 3-pointers from Klay Thompson, they threatened to close Dallas’ lead. But, other than Moody, the Warriors couldn’t string together enough stops and offense to take a lead.
It wasn’t for a lack of trying.
Slumping Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole played with aggression from tip-off, helping the Warriors keep pace with strong offensive performances. Poole led the team with 23 points and Wiggins chipped in 17.
Trapped consistently by Dallas’ defense, Steph Curry didn’t make a single shot attempt in the fourth quarter.
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Author: Shayna Rubin