The second half of the TNT doubleheader on Thursday lost some of its luster before the game even started, with both Stephen Curry of the Warriors and Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavericks being ruled out due to injury. But the game turned out to be exciting nonetheless, as others stepped up on both sides to make for a competitive contest that came down to the very last shot.
In the end, Golden State hung on for a 100-97 victory, and really, it shouldn’t have been that close. The Warriors led by 10 late in the third, and again by 13 with nine minutes to go in the fourth, but both times failed to put the game away as Dallas went on large scoring runs that erased the double-digit deficits each time in a matter of minutes.
The Mavericks used a 9-0 run to close the last two minutes of the third, capped off by a high-arcing three-point shot from Rodrigue Beaubois that fell through the net to end the period.
The Warriors then responded with a 13-0 run to open the fourth quarter, one that lasted three minutes and was capped off by a ridiculous drive and reverse dunk along the baseline from Richard Jefferson, who seemed just as surprised as the rest of us after realizing what he had just done.
Dallas answered yet again, this time with a 13-0 run of its own to get back even at 92 with under four minutes to play. Trailing by one with under twenty seconds remaining, the Mavericks had possession. After a series of passes, the ball landed in the hands of Brandan Wright just a couple of feet from the basket. He went up for the shot, but Andrew Bogut was right there, and didn’t leave his feet while keeping his arms straight up.
Bogut’s defense was excellent, and he caught mostly ball and very little arm while playing about as fundamentally soundly as possible. It was a good no-call by the officials in that situation, but as you might imagine, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban didn’t see it that way.
“Cant wait to see what the NBA says about this no call with 2 secs left,” Cuban posted to his Twitter account afterward.
In Curry’s absence, the Warriors got a big game offensively from Klay Thompson, who lit it up through three quarters with 27 points on 11-14 shooting in just over 25 minutes of action. He cooled off considerably in the fourth, where he went scoreless in over eight minutes.
David Lee finished with 15 points, 20 rebounds, and nine assists, and Bogut was big defensively with three blocked shots in 25 minutes as he continues to work his way back from the ankle injury.
Dallas was carried by O.J. Mayo’s 25 points, five rebounds, and six assists, and got 22 off the bench from Vince Carter. Shawn Marion nearly matched Lee’s effort on the glass, finishing with 17 rebounds to go along with 18 points.
Even without Curry, this would have been a bad loss for the Warriors considering the multiple large leads that were squandered. They’ll take this win, however, no matter how it came. And for the Mavericks, who were also without Chris Kaman in this one, they can be pleased with the positive effort that resulted in coming back time and again, and perhaps even believe that they were jobbed by the officials on that critical call down the stretch as their team’s owner had suggested.