SAN FRANCISCO — When the Mavericks led the Warriors 100-90 halfway through the third quarter, it seemed like anything was on the table. The all-time record for points in a game, the single-game record for 3s, 60 points for Luka Doncic.
Some of the most extreme records remain intact, but the Warriors and Mavericks combined for 48 3-pointers — the most in any game ever. The Warriors matched their franchise record with 27 treys. Doncic dropped a season-high 45 points to go along with 13 assists and 11 rebounds, and Draymond Green (21 points) and Klay Thompson (29 points) also logged their season-highs.
The worst record for the Warriors? Most made 3-pointers in a loss in league history.
The sliding Warriors and the surging Mavericks clashed in the Chase Center, creating a scoring explosion and a 143-133 Mavericks victory.
Defense hasn’t been the issue for the Warriors this year, even in their 2-8 skid, but the Mavericks — who have won 12 of 14 — nonetheless ripped them up. The Warriors (14-11) cut a 19-point deficit to three in the second half, but never proved for any meaningful stretch that they could get enough defensive stops to beat the Mavericks. Even the best shooting night in franchise history wasn’t enough.
“The issue was Luka Doncic,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said postgame. “He was incredible. Give him credit, give Dallas credit. They’ve got a hell of a team — made the Finals last year. They spread you out. They’re as difficult to guard as anybody. And we tried a lot of different things.”
Twice in as many days, Kerr called Draymond Green the best defender in the world. Yet because of the Warriors’ constant search for the right combinations and the best ways to maximize Jonathan Kuminga, Kerr had Earth’s greatest defender on the bench as the Mavericks started the game 9-for-9 from the field.
“They basically beat us in the first six minutes,” Curry said postgame.
The scorching Mavericks got whatever they wanted, both in the halfcourt and transition. Doncic poured in 15 points in his first six minutes. Buddy Hield and Lindy Waters III spent time trying to stay in front of Kyrie Irving — a difficult task for even the best perimeter defenders in the league.
A Quentin Grimes corner 3 off a gorgeous skip pass from Doncic punctuated the quarter, with Dallas shooting 65.4% from the field and 61.5% from 3. They piled on 46 points in the frame — the most a Warriors opponent has scored in any quarter this year.
Green, ironically on offense, prevented a complete onslaught. He nailed three corner 3s, igniting a 12-3 run.
Doncic continued to generate wide open looks for others while creating his own shot. In the first half alone, he logged 28 points, nine assists and eight boards.
As phenomenal as Doncic was, the Warriors hung around. With Dallas doubling Steph Curry on every ball screen, he and Kevon Looney picked apart the Mavericks’ defense in the short roll. Hield drilled three 3s and Jonathan Kuminga took advantage of the game turning into a track meet.
After Hield’s third 3 in the second quarter, Mavs coach Jason Kidd called a timeout. Despite shooting the lights out, his team was only up 10.
The Warriors double-teamed Doncic like the Mavericks blitzed Curry, forcing it out of his hands. They still needed their best 3-point shooting performance of the year to hang tight, and they got it.
Green’s fourth 3 of the game gave Golden State 18 in the first half — a franchise record for any half. Green and Curry knocked down four, with Andrew Wiggins and Hield hitting three apiece.
In the ludicrous offensive environment, the Warriors trailed 81-74 at halftime.
Even with how disastrous the start of the game went, Kerr opted to bring Green off the bench again to begin the second half. Naturally, Dallas crossed the 100-point threshold in five minutes. An insane Doncic step-back 3 over Wiggins pushed his stat line to a 41-point triple-double.
The Warriors finally got a string of stops at the end of the third quarter for a 9-0 run Kuminga punctuated with a breakaway jam. The Warriors targeted Spencer Dinwiddie in isolations and Lindy Waters III stripped him on defense.
But halfway through the fourth, as Curry sat, the Mavericks made their finishing move. Doncic flexed in front of the first row after an and-1, then Thompson stuck out his tongue after drilling a 3 from the same spot. Their buckets sandwiched a brutal turnover from Brandin Podziemski in the corner at the end of the shot clock and gave Dallas a 12-point cushion.
That was the end of Podziemski’s night, and essentially for the Warriors, too. It officially ended with Thompson, the franchise legend in greener pastures, celebrating at midcourt and to fanfare outside of the visitor’s tunnel.
His former team is spiraling, although reinforcements in the shape of Dennis Schroder are on the way.
“Really proud of our guys,” Kerr said. “They continue to fight night in and night out. We’ve lost eight out of 10 and there’s zero quit. There’s some disappointment, but there’s zero quit. And we’re going to climb out of this because of the character and competitiveness of our guys.”
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