1 loss against Dallas enough
DALLAS — On Friday morning, the Warriors returned for the first time this season to an arena where they had lost.
On Friday night, they strutted out of American Airlines Center, having rectified that situation with a convincing 130- 112 victory over the Mavericks that may have come at quite a cost.
Starting center Andrew Bogut didn’t return for the second half because of a left toe injury as the Warriors ( 62- 6) moved to a league- best 30- 6 on the road.
The Mavericks ( 34- 35) have lost seven of their past eight games to fall into the Western Conference’s eighth spot.
Even though they tried some matchup zone, the Mavericks couldn’t figure out how to adjust
62- 6 The Warriors need to go no worse than 11- 3 in their final 14 games to break the Bulls’ single- season record of 72 wins.
to the Warriors, who fell one three- pointer shy of the NBA record for the second time this season. Led by Klay Thompson, who was 10- of- 15 from distance on a 39- point night, the Warriors made 22 of 38 three- point attempts.
Stephen Curry added 31 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds as the Warriors got payback for a 114- 91 loss to Dallas on Dec. 30 — a game Curry missed because of a bruised left shin. Curry and Thompson outscored the Mavericks’ starting lineup 70- 68.
“It was one of those nights when they both had it going,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “It doesn’t happen every night, but it happens frequently.”
Harrison Barnes added 20 points and five rebounds, and Draymond Green had 15 points and eight assists in a game that Kerr correctly predicted would include huge swings and lots of offense.
“It feels like it’s been months. It probably has been,” said Barnes, who snapped a skid of seven straight single-digitscoring games. He shot 29.8 percent from the floor and missed all 14 of his three- point tries during the slump. “It was nice to see a couple squeak in there. The rim just starts getting bigger and bigger.”
Dallas was led by Dirk Nowitzki, who had 24 points and nine rebounds, and former Warrior David Lee, who put up 16 and 16.
Dallas was ahead 26- 20 on a Lee putback with just more than five minutes to play in the first quarter. But the Warriors made five three- pointers in the final 4: 55, including Curry’s 31- foot buzzer- beater that provided the Warriors a 42- 36 advantage.
The Warriors made 14 of their first 17 three- point attempts, taking a 62- 48 lead on Green’s top- of- the- key three with 5 ½ minutes left in the second quarter. Dallas used a 13- 2 run to trim its deficit to 64- 61 on a Nowitzki jumper, but Curry scored seven points in the half’s final 1: 46 to extend the Warriors’ lead to 73- 67.
Bogut couldn’t return for the second half after jamming a toe that had already been bothering him. X- rays revealed a sprain, and the Warriors gave up their lead in the first four minutes without Bogut.
The Warriors responded with a 6- 0 run and then took a 94- 85 advantage into the fourth.
J. J. Barea’s three- pointer trimmed the Mavericks’ deficit to 98- 97 with 9: 13 remaining, but Thompson scored the Warriors’ next 11 points for a 109- 99 lead as Curry checked back into the game with 7: 07 on the clock.
“I was in a great flow and got a lot of good looks early,” Thompson said. “... It was a fun night for me.”