DUBS BEAT MAVS IN PIVOTAL SHOWDOWN
Klay Thompson talked about using the final nine regular-season games as a “warm-up” for the postseason.
Golden State's late-game execution Wednesday night in a high-stakes matchup against the Dallas Mavericks with playoff implications on the line was a good start.
Both teams played with desperation down the stretch, but the Warriors pulled out the 127125 victory in the teams' third and final meeting.
The win gave the Warriors the head-to-head tiebreaker with Dallas.
The Warriors were up by eight at the 7:42 mark. But the Mavericks used a 11-2 run to knot the game up at 113 with 5:21 left in the fourth. The two teams would go on to exchange baskets like a game of pingpong.
Luka Doncic, in his first game back since March 8 after straining a thigh muscle, missed a tough shot to put the ball back in the Warriors' hands with about 30 seconds left in the game. Stephen Curry ran down the clock before gliding to the basket for a layup to put the Warriors up by three with 8.5 seconds remaining.
The Mavericks basically had one shot to get it right. They went to Doncic, who missed the shot under the basket, and Thompson secured the rebound.
Kevon Looney knocked down a pair of free throws to build the Warriors' lead to five, making Reggie Bullock's 3-pointer at the final horn meaningless.
The Warriors won back-toback road games for only the second time this season.
Six Warriors finished with 12 or more points. Jonathan Kuminga led the way with 22 points off the bench, Curry added 20 and Jordan Poole had 16.
Draymond Green scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half. He also had eight assists, four rebounds, four block shots and three steals.
Looney, playing through back pain, finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The Warriors improve to 38-36 on the season and are sixth in the Western Conference standings. The win put them a half-game behind the fifth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers and a game ahead of the
seventh-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. Meanwhile, the Mavericks are hanging by a thread to a playin berth.
The Warriors, who are 29-7 at home, will play their next four games at Chase Center. They're scheduled to host the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.
Green on Wiggins' absence, `disgusting' rumors
Can the Warriors contend for a title without Andrew Wiggins and Gary Payton II? Payton, out with a core injury, has resumed on-court activity and could
return to game action before the remaining nine regular season games are up. Wiggins is completely missing in action and out indefinitely as he tends to an undisclosed family matter.
Draymond Green, on his podcast, shared his thoughts on whether the Warriors have a fighter's chance without the two wing defenders.
“To answer that, it would be tough,” he said. “Two of your best wing defenders — Donte (DiVincenzo) is an incredible wing defender as well — but it would be tough. Two guys, super athletic guys on the team because that's huge. Especially when you get into the playoffs, playing
against different schemes. But sometimes you need that super athletic guy to break the wall.”
The Warriors have struggled to find their defensive identity with Wiggins missing most of the season due to injury and, for the last 16 games, due to this personal matter. They acquired Payton at the trade deadline to help re-establish the lockdown defense that helped them secure the 2022 championship last season.
Payton is “doing well” and is set to be re-evaluated by the training staff today, but has yet to play a game with the Warriors since being traded on Feb. 9. There is no timeline for Wiggins' return.
“Yes, we do need both of them and hope to get them back,” Green said. “As you know, you have to roll with what you got. Hopefully we'll get GP back sooner, and Wiggs, we'll see.”
“We know what we're capable of,” coach Steve Kerr said pregame. “We're hopeful to get Wiggs and Gary Payton back, guys who were key players for us in the championship run a few years ago. We can feel it, a lot of these games where we're a little short defensively — literally and figuratively — so to get guys back who can help us take our defense up another notch, if we can get to that stage, it gives us a chance.”