Drama. But unsuccessful drama.
For the third time in as many game since acquiring Jimmy Butler, the Golden State Warriors fell behind by double digits, and attempted a second-half comeback. But on Wednesday night against the Dallas Mavericks, it seems they flew just a little too close to the sun.
The Dubs again got off to a slow start. Quinten Post re-joined the starting lineup to give Golden State a big look against a Mavericks team that was missing not just Anthony Davis, but also P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford, and Dereck Lively II. It didn’t really work. The offense was fast-paced and, thanks to a pair of threes from Klay Thompson (one of which was banked in), Dallas jumped out to a 15-6 lead.
Things got better from there, and it certainly was noticeable how much better the Warriors look with Curry on the bench than they did last week. But they couldn’t quite close the gap. Moses Moody scored on both halves of a two-for-one, which pulled the Warriors to within one point at the end of the first quarter. Kyrie Irving had scored 11 of Dallas’ 32 points, prompting Steve Kerr to note in the in-game interview that, “I’ve been trying to figure [how to slow Irving down] out for about 10 years.”
The answer will have to wait, because Irving thoroughly took over. But first, Klay did. Thompson scored all of Dallas’ eight points in an 8-2 run to start the second quarter, leading to an early Warriors timeout. Kerr would call a second timeout just four minutes in, with the deficit now 12 points. The timeout did little, as the offense simply couldn’t find a thing, and the Dallas lead grew to 14.
But the offense, which had gotten so sloppy with turnovers and missed layups galore, had a furious end to the quarter, highlighted by steals, offensive rebounds, and a few moments of Steph Curry brilliance. It ended with Butler grabbing an offensive rebound and finding Draymondt Green for a layup, which capped a 15-3 run, and left the Warriors trailing just 57-56 at halftime.
Another bad start to a quarter awaited Golden State, as Dallas scored the first six points of the quarter, the sixth on a technical free throw after Kerr needed to be held back. The Warriors fought to get back into it, before Irving fully took over, draining triples on three consecutive possessions to push the lead all the way to 15 points. The Dubs had overcome such deficits in each of their last two games though, so they were unfazed. They hustled and fought, and while they couldn’t fully eliminate the lead, it was just a five-point deficit going into the fourth quarter.
That deficit ballooned back to 11 points just two minutes in. Butler was doing good things, but Irving was doing even better things. It stayed near that double-digit mark for a while, before a Green three-point play and a Curry triple pulled the Warriors to within four points with about five minutes left. With just 3:31 remaining, Curry drained a three to give Golden State a 102-101 advantage, and their first lead since the opening minutes.
But Irving, giving all Warriors fans flashbacks, would simply not be beat. Dallas re-took the lead when the refs oddly awarded Kyrie with three free throws on a rip-through, and he made all three. After Curry tied it, Irving marched down the court and drained another three. Then the Warriors forced a turnover and scored, cutting the deficit to one, but they couldn’t get over that hump. Moody missed a go-ahead three at the one-minute mark and, after another stop, Curry was fouled with 37.3 seconds remaining. But he missed the second, leaving the game tied.
Dallas scored on the front end of the two-for-one, with Nnaji Marshall sinking a floater. And then the biggest play of the game: Butler drove to the hope and drained a floater, but Irving adeptly slid his feet with him, taking the charge in the process. The Warriors challenged the call to no avail; instead of a potential go-ahead three-point play, the ball was handed back to Dallas with 17.6 seconds and a two-point lead. The Warriors fouled Max Christie with 10.4 seconds and he made both free throws. Down two possessions and lacking any timeouts, Brandin Podziemski tried a Hail Mary inbounds, knowing it was their only hope. It was stolen, and the buzzer wrong, with Dallas winning 111-107.
The game was defined mostly by Golden State’s inability to make layups and threes, and by Irving’s brilliance. Kyrie gave a despondent Dallas fanbase something to cheer about, finishing with 42 points on 15-for-25 shooting, including shooting 7-for-10 from three-point range. It was pure wizardry, with exquisite ball-handling and a wide array of impossible shots that somehow went through.
Thompson added 17 points for Dallas, and while he shot just 6-for-19, all of his makes seemed timely.
Curry paced the Warriors with 25 points, but shot just 9-for-23 from the field. Butler had 21 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists, though he wasn’t quite able to take over the way he had in his first two games with the team. As a team, the Dubs shot just 28.6% on threes, compared to 41.7% for the Mavericks.
There’s no time to mope, though. The Warriors are back in action on Thursday night, when they travel a few hours south to take on the Houston Rockets in their final game before the All-Star break.