Curry, Warriors rally past Mavs for 2-0 lead
SAN FRANCISCO » Stephen Curry scored 32 points with six 3-pointers and eight rebounds, Kevon Looney had a career-high 21 points and 12 rebounds, and the Golden State Warriors used one of their signature third-quarter flurries to rally past the Dallas Mavericks 126-117 on Friday night for a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
Luka Doncic and the Mavericks led most of the way before the Warriors took their first lead of the night on Otto Porter Jr.’s 3pointer 18 seconds into the fourth. Porter’s three-point play with 7:21 remaining made it 100-92.
Doncic scored 18 of his 42 points in the first quarter — two points shy of his 20-point Game 1
total. His 3-pointer with 13 seconds before halftime put Dallas up 72-58 at the break and gave him 24 points.
He even got a Twitter shoutout from Oakland’s own MC Hammer: “Ok young Luka … We see you.”
Andrew Wiggins’ 3-pointer with 49 seconds left in the third got Golden State back within 8381 only for Doncic to answer on a layup moments later. But a 25-13 quarter for the Warriors pulled them to 85-83 going into fourth — a third quarter reminiscent of those that defined so many of their recent playoff runs.
Doncic shot 12 for 23 and shined in a game of brilliant shotmaking — the Warriors finished 56.1% from the floor. In the first half alone, Dallas edged Golden State 52.3% to 51.2%, including a remarkable 55.6% to 53.3% from 3point range.
The series shifts to Dallas for Game 3 on Sunday. Golden State is two wins from a return to the NBA Finals for the first time since making five straight trips from 2015-19.