Andrew Wiggins scored 12 of his team-high 23 points in the third quarter. In the last three minutes, the Warriors hung on for a crucial 104-100 win over the Dallas Mavericks at Chase Center, thanks to two goal-tending calls.
Stephen Curry scored 13 points, passed the ball seven times, and grabbed seven boards to help the Warriors win their fifth straight game. Golden State has won five straight games three times this season.
Kyrie Irving made two free throws with 15 seconds left to cut the lead to 102–100 and bring the game back into play.
Klay Thompson was fouled on purpose, and he made both free throws to seal the win.
Golden State got one step closer to making the playoffs with the win. The Warriors (41-34) moved three games ahead of the Houston Rockets in the race for the 10th spot in the Western Conference. There are still seven games left in the regular season. Early in the day, the Rockets lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
By the end of the fourth quarter, Golden State had a 94-92 lead. Draymond Green’s shot looked like it was stopped by Daniel Gafford of Dallas. Gafford was called for goaltending, though, and the Warriors now have a 96-92 lead.
After that, Green tried to tip in a Curry miss, but the Mavericks were called for goal-tending again.
Soon after, Green stopped Gafford’s shot, grabbed the rebound, and threw the ball up the court while the Chase Center crowd roared.
It was 14 points for Thompson. Green scored 11 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and gave out 6 assists.
They’ve now won three straight games against the Mavericks this season. That ought to help Golden State get going in the next seven games. On Friday in Dallas, these two sides play each other again.
They got off to a slow start and were behind 9-0 before many fans even got to their places. At the end of the first quarter, Wiggins helped them get back in front. The game stayed close until the end.
Here’s what we learned from Tuesday’s game:
Wiggs back to peak formAfter having one of his worst shooting games of the 2023–24 season, Wiggins got off to another slow start against the Mavs. It wasn’t until the second half that he found his shot.
In the first half, Wiggins missed five of his first seven shots and was -1. In the third quarter, he played much better. Four of his first five shots after the break went in, and he scored 12 of the Warriors’ 31 points in the third quarter.
A lot of Wiggs’ time was spent stopping Luka Doncic, who played well all night and scored 30 points while taking 20 shots. As Wiggins and others tried to stop him, few of his goals were wide open.
There are still seven games left in the regular season, and Wiggins is really the key for Golden State. He makes the attαck slow down when he’s not playing. Things feel different and more sure of themselves when he shoots in stride, like he did against Dallas.Again, the bench bunch comes through.This is why Golden State’s bench is still one of the best in the NBA. They showed that again by helping the team b𝖊at Dallas.
Paul scored a lot of points, made plays, and led the second unit, just like he has most of the year. Paul made six out of eleven shots and had five helpers.
Brandin Podziemski, a rookie, also had another good performance all around, which shows why the Warriors coaches aren’t too worried about his scoring. Five points, ten boards, and five assists were part of his game.
Pαin caused by oneselfThe Warriors had a lot of problems against the Mavericks, and most of them were their own fault.
Golden State did a good job of defense, but they missed a lot of easy shots and had trouble handling the ball again. The Warriors turned the ball over 17 times, which led to 25 points.
Everyone was to blame. Curry missed two layups that hit the side of the backboard. In the third quarter, he lost the ball again when he dribbled it off his foot.
The Warriors have had trouble with turnovers for a number of years. It comes with how fast they play. This is also one reason why the team hasn’t been able to find a smooth off𝖊nsive flow all season long in 2023–24.