Although Luka Dončić has a problem with his thigh muscle, as well as fatigue, he gritted his teeth for the away game in San Francisco against the Golden State Warriors and scored 39 points in a big win. Dallas defeated the champion from two years ago with 132:122. The native of Ljubljana also had 10 assists and eight rebounds. Golden State star Stephen Curry had 25 points and seven assists.
One match of the break is working well for Luka Dončić, he played a superb match again. Especially in the second half, when he scored 25 of his 39 points (14/29 from the field). He had four turnovers, but also one stєal and one block. Partizan Belgrade member Dante Exum, who contributed 19 points, is making better use of his opportunity in the first five. Josh Green scored a season-high 18 points. Young Derek Lively II. and he scored a double-double (12 points and 14 rebounds). “It was a nice team win,” emphasized Dallas coach Jason Kidd. “It’s hard to win in this hall. A good team win, defensively and offensively!” Golden State is really undefeated at home this season. However, it only has 15 wins and 17 losses, which is currently only enough for 11th place in the very balanced Western Conference. The teams between fourth and 12th place are only separated by five victories, so the f𝔦ght for the playoffs will be very interesting.
The leading scorer for the Warriors, who lost for the third time in a row, was Stephen Curry, but he gave only 24 points (3-point shooting 6/15). Veteran Chris Paul, who strengthened the team from San Francisco in the summer, gave 24 points, which is the record of his season. He became the 37th player in NBA history to score more than 22,000 points. Rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis scored a career high with 17 points, and Jonathan Kuminga is also showing better performances, scoring more than 10 points (16) for the twelfth time in a row. “We haven’t found that grit that you need to play as a real team. We’re not there yet. And that’s the problem. We have great basketball players. I love them all. But until the team really comes together, until the team is completely committed to winning, we’re going to stuck in that spot,” coach Steve Kerr explained.
Detroit won though
The news of the day in the NBA is the victory of the Detroit Pistons, who broke the streak of 28 losses. They bєat the Toronto Raptors 129:127. It’s Detroit’s first win since late October, tying the league record for consecutive shutouts set by Philadelphia between the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.
Dallas took a 49-33 lead in the second quarter with a partial 13-0 run, but they quickly squandered it (a 12-0 partial run for Golden State). With Dončić’s 14 points in the third quarter, the visitors made the key difference (101:89). With two consecutive three-pointers by Curry and Paul, the home team got closer to 114:119 with three minutes to go, but they didn’t get any closer due to poor shooting. They shot only 45 percent from the field, Dallas 55 percent.
For Dallas, this is 19 wins on the season, and they have 14 losses. They are the sixth team in the NBA’s Western Conference. They have lost a bit of form recently, this is only their third win in the last eight games. It is true, however, that Kyrie Irving is not playing due to a heel ιnjury (he is about to return), Dončić also missed two games, who has some problems with a hamstring ιnjury (Seth Curry was missing this time due to illness). But the native of Ljubljana is still in excellent shape. He’s averaging nearly 40 points per game in December and has scored at least 38 points seven times in his last eight games, with a particularly notable Christmas Day 50-point performance against Phoenix.
It was the Mavericks’ last game of 2023, and they next play on New Year’s Day when they visit Salt Lake City.