Poole may be kryptonite for Mavericks defense

SAN FRANCISCO >> With impressive length and a scheme designed to take the ball out of Steph Curry's hands that stifled Golden State during regular-season matchups, the Dallas Mavericks seemed to have the Warriors offense all figured out heading into the Western Conference finals.

Jordan Poole could be the Mavericks' kryptonite.

Poole scored 23 points, secondmost to Steph Curry's 32, and recorded a team-high plus-26 off the bench in the Warriors' 126-117 win on Friday night at Chase Center to lead Golden State to a commanding 2-0 series lead.

Sixteen of Poole's points came in a triumphant second half in which the Warriors erased a 19-point deficit. The key to the run?

“We just slowed down a little bit,” Poole said. “We were more patient. Stopped turning the ball over as much in the second half. Kind of got to our actions. We were able to just buckle down and get stops in the second half.”

Slowing things down allowed the Warriors to dissect a vulnerable Mavericks interior defense. That's where Poole, a creative force driving through the paint to the rim, thrives. Poole subbed in for Kevon Looney with 7 minutes left in the third quarter to join Klay Thompson and Curry. A trio known for the ability to knock down jumpers from beyond the arc gathered up some momentum, mostly inside.

Poole breezed by Maxi Kleber for a quick layup, and Thompson beat Kleber, too, for a dunk to pull the Warriors within nine. Minutes later, Poole worked off a screen with Luka Doncic caught on the wrong side and laid up an easy shot to cut the Mavericks' lead to five. After Kevon Looney's dunk, the Warriors were down two heading into the final quarter.

With Curry taking his routine rest to start the fourth quarter, Poole kept the Warriors offense in stride along with Otto Porter Jr., who opened the quarter with a 3-pointer to give the Warriors their first lead. Poole saw Kleber under the basket again and, after a quick move past Davis Bertans guarding him on the perimeter, went up and around the Mavericks forward.

“I've got huge confidence in Jordan,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We've seen him do this with allowing Steph to rest, and still give us that offensive punch that we need, that shot creation. Jordan has really filled that role that that's been tough for us to fill over the years.”

Poole has sparked the Warriors offense throughout these playoffs with his dynamic scoring and as a playmaking threat while Curry sits and as a pick-your-poison playmaker when Curry shares the court with him. Against a Grizzlies defense that worked to limit the Warriors' 3-point scoring, Poole countered with zips to the rim that lifted the Warriors offense to crucial runs and wins.

Poole isn't the only threat to get to the rim, of course. Curry is prolific at finding seams when he can break free from mugging defenders; he scored 12 points in the fourth quarter with a few key drives. In the second half Friday, Porter and Thompson also found easy lanes to the rim and Looney scored a career-high 21 points feasting around the basket.

The Warriors finished with 62 points in the paint, matching a playoff high they scored in their Game 3 rout of the Grizzlies.

“He's more than capable as a ball-handler and playmaker to take advantage of that,” Curry said. “There are times where me or Klay are off the ball and we know they are not really going to leave us or help, and he's amazing at taking advantage of that and getting to the paint, crafty finishes.”

Curry recalled a few transition opportunities during the fourth quarter run in which defenders fixated on Poole, not Curry, because of his speed and force in getting to the rim. That left Curry in a rare open space beyond the arc, and Poole found him there for a late 3-pointer.

“There's a lot of trust in being able to put the ball in his hands,” Curry said. “You have to know what you're going to try to take away. He's been amazing at finding seams . ... It's nice to have another ball-handler that can take advantage of those looks.”