Warriors slow Doncic, rout Mavs in Game 1
Luka Doncic outscored Andrew Wiggins 20-19 in their head-to-head matchup in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Wednesday night (Thursday in the Philippines).
However, there was no doubt who the winner was.
Wiggins harassed the Dallas Mavericks star into his lowest output of the postseason, and the Golden State Warriors countered with a balanced and high-percentage offensive attack en route to a 112-87 shellacking in the opener of the best-ofseven series in San Francisco.
Game 2 is scheduled for Friday in San Francisco (Saturday in the Philippines), where Golden State, seeking its sixth trip to the NBA Finals in the past eight years, has gone 7-0 this postseason.
The game plan featured handcuffing Doncic on one end and attacking him on the other. It was a two-way success.
Doncic was held four points below his previous low this postseason while hitting just six of his 18 shots.
He wasn’t alone in his offensive miseries. The Mavericks shot just 36 percent overall and 22.9 percent on 3-point attempts, missing 37 of 48.
Taking advantage of the Mavericks’ poor shooting, the Warriors never trailed over the final 45 minutes while taking a 1-0 lead for the third consecutive time this postseason.
All seven Warriors who played at least 13 minutes scored in double figures, with Stephen Curry and Wiggins getting plenty of help. Jordan Poole contributed 19 points to the cause, while Klay Thompson had 15, and Kevon Looney, Draymond Green and Otto Porter Jr. scored 10 each.
Golden State shot 56.1 percent from the field, led by Looney’s 5-for-5, Porter’s 5-for7 and Poole’s 8-for-12.
Curry completed a doubledouble with a game-high 12 rebounds. Green added nine boards to Golden State’s 51-35 advantage.
Doncic went just 3-for-10 on 3-point attempts, as did teammate Reggie Bullock, who finished with 12 points.
Spencer Dinwiddie had 17 points off the bench and Jalen Brunson scored 14 for the Mavericks, who lost Game 1 for the third straight series. (Field