Ain’t No Party - Warriors Defeat Mavericks
By: Esteban Schear
SAN FRANCISCO - It was another rainy day in the Bay Area, the Warriors threw a real West Coast party in the first-half against Dallas. They started out as crisp as a chicharron, moving the pelota and jumping out to an 11-2 lead on buckets by Looney, Dray, Klay and Curry. Dallas was severely undermanned, with Luka Doncic, Maxie Kleber, Davis Bertans and Christian Wood all out with injuries.
At halftime, the Warriors were up 73 to 58, so when DJ Sharpe played “Ain’t No Party Like a West Coast Party,” during the intermission it sounded just right, like it was going to be an all-night fiesta. The party ended well, but it more with a sigh of relief than a grito of goza. Halfway through the third quarter, Warriors were still hitting on all cylinders, shooting 73% on two-pointers and 52% on three pointers. Then Steph got injured late in the third quarter. The Warriors were still up by 16 with less than five minutes to go in the game, but Dallas came back to get within five in the last 90 seconds, in large part due to Warriors’ turnovers. Kevon Looney saved the day with a couple of crucial offensive and defensive rebounds and the Dubs managed pull out a 119-113 victory.
There was a lot to like before Steph got injured. The first half ended with Dray and JaMychal Green the Dubs’ leading scorers with 11 each, likely the first time that’s happened. Curry had 10, and Klay and Kuminga had 9 each. Now that’s balanced scoring. JaMychal played his best half since becoming a Warrior, scoring inside and out and playing good defense with lots of energy. By the end of the game, the Dubs had seven players in double-figures, and Wiggins had 9, so this was a real team victory.
Kuminga ended up with 14 points and 5 rebounds in 20 minutes and made history by becoming the youngest player to score 1,000 points in Warriors’ history. And this is just the beginning. With his handle, his poise, his hops, his focus, his long arms, his three point shot, his inside moves and his smile, at the age of 20 he could be a key component for the Warriors in the playoffs and for years to come. He still needs to work on moving more without the ball and not reaching in and getting unnecessary fouls, but he is becoming a real force on both offense and defense.
Steve Kerr was also key to the Warriors’ victory. He went back to the Looney-Draymond-Klay-Wiggins-Curry starting line-up, and that led to their fast start. When the Warriors began to slide in the first and third quarters, he called time-outs and made substitutions, and the team roared out of both of those time-outs with fresh energy.
On the not so good side were Jordan Poole and the Chase Center crowd. After the Warriors’ fast start in the first quarter, Poole came in and picked up two quick fouls and the Warriors’ momentum came to a halt. Then Poole turned the ball over and the Mavericks were able to get within 3 at 24-21. In a piece of poor timing, his turnover was followed by a silly big screen ad for Jordan’s Poole Party. Poole ended up with only 3 points, 4 turnovers, and only 1 assist in 27 minutes. It was his worst performance of the year. Two-way player Ty Jerome, by comparison, had six assists and no turnovers in 18 minutes.
The Chase crowd was also not much help. Although folks seemed in a good mood, there was only one time the entire night when the crowd chanted “Defense!”, late in the fourth quarter after Dallas came within eight. The crowd seemed more excited by the t-shirt toss than the game, never a good sign.
If Curry is not seriously injured, this was a good win over a depleted team. As Draymond said at the end of the game, if the Warriors want to move up in the standings, they have to stop giving away games they should win. That’s what they did last night.
Side Notes
The Warriors have one open roster spot that they could give to either Jerome or Anthony Lamb, another two-way player. Both have played well. They are both shooting around 50% on twos and 40% on threes. Lamb provides a little more muscle and rebounding, while Jerome provides steady backup ball-handling. It could be a tough decision for Myers and Kerr.
During a 20-minute pre-game warm-up, Iguodala moved well. He looked healthy but his shot looked rusty. The Warriors and Iggie are obviously balancing the risk of injury versus the need to knock off the rust before the play-offs. If he starts playing after the All-Star break, he’d have a good amount of time to integrate with the bench unit, which he could help stabilize, particularly in regard to tempo and turnovers.
X-rays on Curry’s left leg came back negative, and he was set to get an MRI after the game. Warriors coach Steve Kerr was cautiously optimistic when discussing the injury with reporters after the game.
“Any time a guy gets an MRI, there’s a concern level,” Kerr said. “We’ll just have to wait and see the results. … This is not the first time. He plays hard and he’s all over the floor. This has happened many, many times over the years. So fingers crossed he’s OK.”