Luka Doncic Scores 41, Mavericks beat the Golden State Warriors Again

The Dallas Mavericks beat the Golden State Warriors on March 3 for the second time in five days, winning 122-113 at home. 

On the day Luka Doncic was named the Western Conference’s Player of the Month, he showed why by scoring 19 points in the first quarter en route to finishing with 41 points. He came one assist short of a triple-double, adding ten rebounds and nine assists. 

“He’s playing off the charts,” coach Jason Kidd said.

On Sunday, the Mavericks came from 21-points down to escape with the road win in California. In Dallas Thursday, the Warriors almost handed the Mavericks a similar fate. 

Dallas led by as many as 17 points early in the second half and never trailed in the game. However, a furious fourth-quarter rally by Golden State tied the score at 104 with 6:28 remaining in the game. The Mavericks’ Spencer Dinwiddie scored the following four points, and the team kept the lead for the remainder of the game. 

Dinwiddie had 17 total points in his first game at home since being acquired at the trade deadline. Seven of his points came in the fourth quarter alone.

“He was very clutch, very clutch,” Doncic said of Dinwiddie. “He’s a great player. I thought it was going to take him a little longer, but I’m not surprised at all.”

Dallas clinches the season series over the Warriors with a 3-1 record with the win. It is also the Mavericks’ ninth win in their last 11 games and moves the team to 13 games over .500 (38-25) for the first time all season. 

It was their season-worst third consecutive loss for the Warriors, and they have lost seven of their last nine games. Golden State (43-20) is still in second place in the Western Conference but is now 7.5 games behind the first-place Phoenix Suns. 

Aside from the Player of the Month, in Doncic, the game showcased the Warriors’ two-time MVP, Stephen Curry. It was also the first game for Golden State’s All-Star guard Klay Thompson, who missed the previous two games with an illness.

Dallas played stellar defense against the talented duo, holding Thompson to 17 points and Curry to 21. Curry did not even have a single shot attempt in the final quarter, despite playing all 12 minutes. The Mavericks sent double teams at Curry the entire quarter, forcing the ball out of his hands. 

“We executed the game plan,” said Dorian Finney-Smith, who scored 18 points. “We started trapping him.”

After Doncic’s explosive 19-point first quarter, Finney-Smith had 11 points in the second quarter alone. Doncic rested the first five minutes of the quarter, but Dallas extended their lead from 38-27 to 54-40 when Doncic returned to the court. The Mavericks maintained that 14-point lead to go into halftime up 68-54. 

The Warriors began their rally in the third quarter. Curry and Thompson each had eight points in that quarter alone. Twice during the period, Golden State narrowed its deficit to seven points. Dallas answered each time, extending the lead back to double-digits, and entered the fourth quarter leading by eight points. Doncic scored 11 points in the third quarter. 

In the fourth, Warriors rookie Moses Moody caught fire, scoring 13 consecutive points for Golden State to tie the score. However, Doncic and Dinwiddie carried the team down the stretch. Doncic provided the dagger by scoring on back-to-back possessions over Curry in the paint. Both baskets by Doncic answered baskets scored by Moody. 

“We had, in the past, maybe melted,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “It just shows growth. Our maturity level was high.”

“It’s totally true,” Doncic added. “We just stayed together. Mentally we were there. We’re growing up.”