In a case of the game itself being much more challenging than the records would indicate, the Warriors on Sunday posted their second narrow victory in three games against the Mavericks.
With Stephen Curry pouring in 48 points – and dropping 11 3-pointers along the way – the Warriors escaped American Airlines Center in Dallas as 119-114 victors.
The Warriors' record moved to 29-14, while Dallas fell to 20-23. A deeper look sheds light on why – and where – the Mavericks can be hard to beat. Their 16-4 home record heading into the contest was the second-best in the Western Conference.
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Golden State had already been among the 16 victims, taking a 112-109 loss at AAC on Nov. 17. So winning in Dallas is never going to be easy.
Here are some positives and negatives culled from another win over Dallas that was decided inside the final minutes.
POSITIVE
Golden State Warriors
Curry-Durant coordination
It was apparent early that Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant would be the offensive stalwarts; they accounted for all 25 Warriors points in the first quarter. As the game progressed, each of them seemed to sense what the team needed. They played off each other and off the most efficient teammates. Four of Durant’s five assists went to Alfonzo McKinnie (4-5 from the field) or Curry. Three of Curry’s five went to Durant or McKinnie. Durant hit Curry with two dimes in the fourth quarter before returning a Curry pass that led to Curry’s dagger 3 with 42.2 seconds left.
Curry and Durant recognized they needed to score, so they found each other, as well as McKinnie who also had a rhythm. Smart basketball.
POSITIVE
Bench on the boards
The Warriors trailed by four (29-25) after one quarter largely because the Mavericks attempted eight more shots. They also had seven more rebounds (19-12). That problem was fixed in the second quarter, when the Warriors gained a 15-8 edge on the boards. Thank the second unit, which accounted for eight of them. All in all, the Warriors bench grabbed 21 rebounds in 82 minutes. Their starters snagged 28 in 158 minutes. Jonas Jerebko hauled in a team-high eight, with Andre Iguodala and Kevin Durant each adding seven.
A good bench observes closely, sees weaknesses and addresses them. Goal met.
POSITIVE
Draymond being Draymond
He scored 4 points. Four. But we understood years ago that points are the absolute worst way to measure Draymond Green’s impact. So look elsewhere in the box score. That’s where you find seven assists (team high), six rebounds, one steal and one very timely block inside the final minute. He was plus-14 (team best) over 32 minutes. No Warrior was more responsible than Green for Dallas shooting 41.8 percent from the field.
There may not be a player in the league who does more for his team with a minimum of scoring.
NEGATIVE
Klay cools off
Klay Thompson’s four-game streak of spectacular shooting came to an end. He missed his first six shots before making a layup in the second quarter. He scored 16 points on 7-of-20 shooting from the field, including 2-of-11 from beyond the arc. If not for some highly effective defense that allowed him to post a plus-4 over 34 minutes, Thompson would have been a net negative.
Thompson’s absurd accuracy was not sustainable. At issue now is whether this was a one-game blip or something more.