Dallas Mavericks hold off the Golden State Warriors to solidify seeding in Western Conference – NBA Recap
The Dallas Mavericks defeated the travelling Golden State Warriors 104-94 on Friday night. This was the 7th straight loss for the Warriors, who were injury depleted for the game. David Lee has been ruled out of the remaining
season with a groin injury and so has been Stephen Curry, while Nate Robinson missed his second game in a row with a hamstring injury.
With the win, the Mavericks moved 2 wins clear of 7th placed Denver Nuggets and solidified their chances of finishing the season with the 6th seed. Vince Carter was the leading scorer for Dallas, coming off
the bench to score 19 points, all of which came in the 2nd half. He had 9 rebounds to go with it and was a perfect 8 of 8 from the field. Klay Thompson scored a game high 26 points for the Warriors.
The 1st half was evenly balanced with both teams staying close to each other in points. Dallas led the game 50-49 at halftime. The 3rd quarter was much the same, with the game tied on a couple of occasions and both teams
not allowing the other to build a large lead. Dallas finished the third period with a dunk by Shawn Marion followed by a three pointer by Delonte West to extend their lead and have a 76-70 advantage over the Warriors at the end of the period.
Dallas finally started to edge away from the Warriors in the 4th quarter as they opened the period with a 13-5 run to lead 89-75 with 7:55 remaining in the game. Vince Carter scored 8 straight points to start the run
for Dallas. The Warriors came back with 7 straight points to cut the lead down to 7, but Carter helped Dallas hold on to their lead as they eventually won 104-94.
Brandan Wright came off the bench to score 17 points for Dallas while going 8 of 9 from the field. Delonte West had 16 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 16 points and 5 rebounds. Jason Kidd played only 22 minutes as he was rested
the entire of the final quarter. He managed no points for the night. Brandon Rush had 20 points for the Warriors, going 9 of 12 from the field and grabbing 8 rebounds in the process. Dorell Wright added 19 points but went 5 of 14 from the field. He was however,
4 of 9 from the distance.
Dallas were a dismal 3 of 19 from the distance but scored on 25 out of their 26 free throw attempts. The Warriors shot much better from the distance, going 9 of 19, but missed 10 of their 21 free throw attempts. Dallas dominated
the board, out-rebounding the Warriors 52-35, including a 13-7 advantage in offensive rebounds. They were also able to penetrate the paint area more compared to the Warriors, outscoring them 48-32 in points within the paint.
"I thought it was an outstanding effort when you look at the team that we're putting on the floor. A lot of injuries, a lot of young guys. I'm proud of the way they competed and battled against a championship team and found a way
to hang in until the fourth quarter when the Mavericks clearly separated themselves” said Warriors coach Mark Jackson after the game.
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