It was a roller coaster of emotions for the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night. The team trailed by as many as 21 points before coming back for a 107-101 road win over the Golden State Warriors.
The Mavericks faced the deficit with 5:41 remaining in the third quarter when the Warriors held a 79-58 lead. Dallas managed to bring the deficit down to 88-74 by the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter is where the Mavericks managed their improbable turnaround. Dallas dominated the final quarter, going on a 33-8 run over the last 9:44 to steal the win.
The Mavericks took their first lead of the game after a layup from Dorian Finney-Smith brought the score to 95-94 with 3:21 remaining. Luka Doncic followed with a two-pointer, then passed to Spencer Dinwiddie, who connected on a three-point shot. That gave Dallas a 100-94 lead with 1:43 remaining in the blink of an eye.
Dinwiddie was a significant component in the comeback. He had ten of his 24 points in the fourth quarter alone.
Doncic capped the comeback by scoring the Mavericks’ final seven points of the game, five of which came from the free-throw line. He finished with 34 points and 11 rebounds while making 10-of-21 shot attempts.
Early in the game, it seemed as though the Warriors were destined for a blowout win, which would have been their second of the season over Dallas. One month prior, on January 25, Golden State handed the Mavericks their worst loss of the season by a 38-point margin in the same arena they played Sunday night.
“This was a character, environment, and culture win for us,” Coach Jason Kidd said. “No one quit. Everybody kept fighting, and we found a way to win, and that’s what good teams do.”
The Warriors raced out of the starting gate to take a 15-5 lead less than five minutes into the game. In the first quarter, Golden State made 60.9% of their shot attempts and held a 37-24 lead at the end of the period.
Turnovers severely hurt Dallas in the first half. Doncic committed three in the first four minutes of the game, and he would finish with a career-high-tying nine turnovers in the game. The Warriors double-teamed Doncic almost every time he touched the ball in the first half, forcing him to make several difficult passes.
“My start almost cost us the game,” Doncic said, “so I got to be better on that.”
Doncic was not alone in his carelessness with the ball. In the first half, the Mavericks had 11 turnovers. The team finished with 18, tied for the second-most in a single game this season. The Warriors scored 19 points off of the Dallas turnovers.
Golden State led by as many as 18 points in the first half, but the Mavericks seemed poised to mount a comeback. A jump shot from Doncic cut the Dallas deficit to six, 52-46, with 3:10 remaining until halftime. However, the Warriors scored eight of the last ten points in the first half and went into the break leading 60-48.
Golden State twice held a 21-point lead in the third quarter. First, a three-pointer from their All-Star guard Stephen Curry made their advantage 73-52 with 8:25 remaining in the quarter. Then, Curry made a two-pointer that gave the Warriors the 79-58 lead with 5:41 remaining.
From there, Dallas mounted another comeback attempt to pull nine points late in the third quarter.
“The big thing was when we cut it to single digits,” Dinwiddie said. “Psychologically, when you look at it and see nine [points down] instead of 13, even though it’s only a four-point swing, you’re like, ‘Ok, we’re right here. We’re a couple shots in it.'”
However, Golden State responded by scoring seven consecutive points to rebuild their double-digit lead.
Doncic had played the entire third quarter, so he was on the bench to start the fourth quarter when the Mavericks began their improbable run. Dallas outscored the Warriors 16-6 with Doncic on the bench at the beginning of the fourth.
When Doncic returned to the court, the Mavericks had turned a 14-point deficit into only four points, 94-90, with 6:14 remaining.
Finney-Smith connected on a three-pointer in the first possession with Doncic back on the court. Finney-Smith played the entirety of the fourth quarter and finished with 12 points, four rebounds, and two blocks.
From there, Golden State missed five consecutive shot attempts while Dallas surged ahead to steal the win.
The Mavericks are now 14-9 on the road against Western Conference opponents.
The quality of the Warriors makes the win even more impressive. Golden State sits in second place of the Western Conference standings and has won 62 consecutive games after holding a lead of 20 or more points. The Warriors are regarded as a legitimate title contender by NBA analysts.
The two teams will rematch in Dallas on Thursday night.