Game Details WHO: Dallas Mavericks vs Golden State Warriors WHEN: Saturday, March 23rd; 5:30 p.m. WHERE: Oracle Arena WATCH: NBCSBA LISTEN: 95.7 The Game Blog Buddy: Mavs Moneyball The Golden State Warriors are in a two-way race for the #1 seed with the Denver Nuggets, with the tantalizing prize of home court advantage going to the victor. That’s one reason the champs upcoming game against the Dallas Mavericks is must see TV. Another reason this game is crucial is because Luka Doncic is putting the finishing touches on a likely rookie of the year campaign (apologies to the Hawks’ Trae Young). Doncic knows a big performance against the Golden Empire would cement his clout with the NBA Twitterati. Additionally, the other three times that these teams played this season were thrillers that went down to the final seconds. Nov 17, 2018 Dallas wins 112-109 after Doncic finished the Dubs off with a late shot. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green missed that game with injuries, while Kevin Durant scored 32 in the losing effort. Excerpt from ESPN’s recap: The 19-year-old from Slovenia arrived in the NBA having led Real Madrid to the 2018 Euro League title. On Saturday, he hit a 10-footer in the lane with 1:10 left to put Dallas up 109-108, then sealed the game with two free throws with seven seconds remaining. ”I’ve been doing this when I was in Madrid, too,” Doncic said. “I love the last-minute shot. (But) of course it’s different. It’s the NBA. It’s the best league in the world.” Dec 22, 2018 The Warriors returned the favor in Oracle Arena, knocking off the Mavs 120-116 in a back-and-forth shootout. Doncic took a spill into the crowd and was knocked out of the game after a hot start. Durant had 29 points including a key 3-pointer with 15 seconds left, and added 12 rebounds and eight assists, and the Warriors held off a fourth-quarter rally. ”They made tough shots at the end. I don’t want to get discouraged because of the last three minutes,” Durant said. “... I thought the whole basketball game we played pretty solid.” Jan 13, 2019 The third matchup was another barn-burner in Dallas, as the Warriors prevailed 119-114 behind a whopping 48 points from Curry. Per USA Today: Curry’s 11 3s were the most ever by a Mavericks opponent. The last one was his most important, snapping a 114-all tie with 42 seconds to play. Both Curry and Warriors coach Steve Kerr credited Kevin Durant for switching play calls to get Curry shots rather than taking shots of his own. ”That was just (Durant) taking the initiative, knowing that I had a hot hand going,” Curry said. “Call it a decoy in terms of him being in the action, but allowing me to work. The way they were defending us, it just made sense tonight.” OH WAIT THIS JUST IN! Stephen Curry, Andrew Bogut, and Shaun Livingston will rest tomorrow against the Mavericks, per the NBA’s injury report. — Dieter Kurtenbach (@dkurtenbach) March 22, 2019 Ruh roh, how’s this one gonna shake out?<doc-sep>Back in the beginning of March, the Golden State Warriors suffered their worst home loss of the Steve Kerr era, falling by 33 points to the Boston Celtics. That mark ended up lasting just a few weeks, as the Dallas Mavericks waltzed into Oracle Arena on Saturday night and took down the Warriors, 126-91, handing them a 35-point home loss -- a new worst mark at home under Kerr. Leading the way for the Mavericks was their brilliant rookie Luka Doncic. The youngster recorded yet another triple-double, finishing with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Doncic is now fourth all-time as a rookie with six triple-doubles this season. He did it in style as well, hitting some nasty step-back 3s, and finishing a circus and-one bucket that still doesn't really make sense. Additionally, in what will likely be his final game in Oracle Arena, Dirk Nowitzki put up his highest scoring game of the season, finishing with 21 points and five rebounds. It should, of course, be noted that the Warriors were playing without Steph Curry in this game, but even still they shouldn't be losing to a tanking Mavericks team by 35 points. Especially with the likes of Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and DeMarcus Cousins still in the starting lineup. Looking disinterested in regular season games in March and April -- even earlier, at times -- has been part of the Warriors' style throughout their run, but it's been happening more often this season. It likely won't matter much come playoff time, but it has been an interesting trend to watch.<doc-sep>When opening numbers for Saturday’s NBA slate were released, the Mavericks-Warriors matchup (8:30 p.m. ET) was given the third-highest consensus total of of the eight games at 225.5. The earliest openers even had it up at 227.5. As of writing on Saturday afternoon, it’s down to 219 — the fifth-highest number on the slate (see live odds here). >> All odds as of 3 p.m. ET. Download The Action Network App to get real-time NBA odds and track your bets. So what gives? Well, a couple things. First, the Warriors announced Steph Curry would be resting for the game. That took the total off the board for the night, and caused a re-opening number of 224 this morning. Finish reading this entire article absolutely FREE in our app GET OUR FREE APP Next, sharps decided that the adjustment for Curry wasn’t enough. They immediately steamed the under at 224, driving most books to settle around the 222 range. They didn’t stop there, though. According to Sports Insights’ Bet Signals, which are triggered whenever sharp action causes a market-wide line move, wiseguys came back to hit the under at 222.5, and again at 220, resulting in the current total. The betting market percentages also point to some professional action backing a low-scoring game. While 61% of bets are behind the under — which probably has something to do with Curry’s absence — it’s also drawn an impressive 93% of actual money being wagered. That means it’s attracting the much bigger bettors — the ones more likely to be sharps.<doc-sep>(CLICK HERE, if you are unable to view this photo gallery on your mobile device.) OAKLAND — Without their engine that makes everything move smoothly, the Warriors suddenly had a machine that did not work. The Warriors labored through a 126-91 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday at Oracle Arena in what marked the most lopsided defeat of the season. The obvious reason partly pointed to Stephen Curry sitting for rest purposes. While Curry sat after playing 49 consecutive games this season, the Warriors no longer had their star that makes long 3’s, command double teams and generates easy shots for others. The Warriors also played as if they lacked any star talent to absorb rest nights for Curry, Shaun Livingston and Andrew Bogut. Such has been life for the Warriors this season. They have gone a combined 5-7 without Curry, which included an 11-game absence from a left groin injury and Saturday’s absence for rest purposes. “It doesn’t matter what anybody thinks or what our guys felt,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Steph is not there. He has been playing night in and night out and needed a rest. He’s been beaten up. That’s how it goes.” Without Curry’s gravity, Klay Thompson did not have the same amount of catch-and-shoot opportunities to thrive as a scorer (eight) and shooter from the field (4-of-13) and from distance (0-of-4). Without Curry’s scoring threat, Kevin Durant suddenly became inefficient (25 points) from the field (9-of-25) and from 3 (0-of-8). After spending last season filling in nicely during Curry’s injuries, Warriors fourth-year guard Quinn Cook had only seven points on 3-of-10 shooting. Klay Thompson subscribes. You can too for just 11 cents a day for 11 months + receive a free Warriors Championship book. Sign me up! Suddenly, the Warriors’ offense morphed from one centered on fluid ball movement to an offense that frequently stalled. They recorded only 22 assists while shooting 40 percent from the field and 13.3 percent from deep. With exception to DeMarcus Cousins (19 points on 8-of-11 clip) and Kevon Looney (12 points on 5-of-6 clip), no one else on the Warriors shot above 50 percent from the field. “It’s really just us missing shots,” Durant said. “That’s something I cant pinpoint for everybody. But I’m confident I’ll start knocking them down soon.” Still, the Warriors (48-23) did not fall below the Denver Nuggets (49-22) for first place in the Western Conference standings just because of Curry’s absence. The Warriors lost to the Western Conference’s second-worst team by lacking the same defensive presence that ensured four wins in the past five games. The Mavericks (29-44) featured Luka Doncic (23 points), Dirk Nowitkzi (21), Ryan Broekhoff (17 points), Max Kleber (16) , Trey Burke (13) and Jalen Brunson (11) in double figures. Dallas shot 53 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from 3. The Warriors also lost on the glass (49-36). Want Warriors news delivered to your phone? Sign up for a free trial of Mark Medina’s Warriors text messaging service * * * “It just has something to do with the fact sometimes you have games where playing against that team isn’t going to get you up,” Draymond Green admitted. “We have to find the energy somewhere else. We didn’t.” Mindful of that reality, the Warriors’ coaching staff warned their players that the Mavericks could take what Kerr called a “free swing.” Then, the Warriors’ lost the game before it really even began. The Mavericks stormed out a 12-2 lead with 9:23 left in the first quarter after Nowitzki scored eight points on three shots and the Warriors missed five of their first six. That start set the tone negatively the same the way the Warriors lost to Boston after trailing 12-0 and to Houston after trailing 15-0. Incidentally, the Warriors’ recent progress stemmed from losing by four points nearly two weeks ago to Phoenix, which owns the worst record in the Western Conference. The Warriors’ latest loss proved much worse. With the Warriors trailing 108-70 at the end of the third quarter, a noticeable amount of Warriors’ fans headed for the exits. “Defensively, we were not connected. We weren’t talking,” Kerr said. “A lot of missed communication. We couldn’t pull together after that slow start. We could never get any traction in the game.” That the Warriors failed to gain traction against Dallas may not be surprising. The Warriors have struggled to do so just as much at home (25-11) as on the road (24-12). The Warriors lost by 35 points to Dallas, which trumped their 33-point loss to Boston earlier this month. The Warriors have also lost a handful of marquee home games, including Milwaukee, Portland, Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, Oklahoma City and Houston (twice). Meanwhile, the Warriors won in in Utah, Denver, Milwaukee, Portland, Boston and Philadelphia. Even without Durant last week with a left ankle injury, the Warriors won in Houston and Oklahoma City. The Warriors could not absorb Curry’s absence as well at home against Dallas. “It’s not odd at all. I think everybody in that locker room ahs gotten their ass beat at home before,” Durant said. “I know this experience is different with how much winning we’ve done the last few years. Btu we’re still in the NBA and guys have been apart of terrible games.” None of which left the Warriors concerned that much for a few simple reasons. They play the Detroit Pistons (37-35) on Sunday at Oracle Arena in a game that Curry will play. Kerr said he “more than likely” will rest other players on Sunday against Detroit. But he added he has not finalized any decisions since they partly stem from developments against the Mavericks. It appears likely DeMarcus Cousins will sit against Detroit since he has yet to play a full back-to-back since returning two months ago from a left Achilles tendon injury. Then again, maybe the Warriors will not need to rest that much against Detroit. Not after how they coasted in a sluggish performance against Dallas. WARRIORS HQ PODCAST: Be sure to visit our podcast page at mercurynews.com.<doc-sep>
What. Just. Happened. The Dallas Mavericks, losers of 15 of the last 17 games, just handed the Golden State Warriors a gigantic, colossal ‘L’ on a silver platter. The Mavericks have had big victories this season. The 118-68 win against the Utah Jazz in November and the 122-84 beatdown against the Charlotte Hornets in January come to mind. But this win, given the circumstances of the Mavericks season, was different and felt really, really good. After all, the Mavericks did stop a 12 game skid at Oracle Arena with the win. Here what we observed in the Dallas victory: The Mavericks owned the three-point line Dallas put on a dominant offensive display from the opening tip. Dirk Nowitzki was hot early, leading the charge (more on that later), and the rest of the Mavericks followed suit pushing the team to their largest halftime lead of the season: The Mavs lead the Warriors 74-46 at halftime. Not a typo. It's Dallas's largest halftime lead on the road since 12/21/04 (+39 at NYK). It's the Warriors' largest home halftime deficit since 11/23/05 (-30 vs. SAS). (Stats per @bball_ref) — Bobby Karalla (@bobbykaralla) March 24, 2019 The Mavericks dominance of the arc (Golden State was just 2-17 from deep in the first) propelled the first half surge and carried them through the rest of the way. Dallas was humming offensively in general, tallying 14 assists on 21 made field goals at one point late in the second quarter, but that’s generally what happens when shots were falling like they did. For the game the Mavericks shot 21-49 from deep while the Warriors shot just 4-30. That 51-point discrepancy was one of the main reasons the Mavericks won the game like they did. Steph Curry sitting helps, and Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson will not combine to go 0-for-12 from deep for a long time. But the Mavericks did their job knocking down open shots, and the team cruised because of it. Luka Doncic triple doubles in three quarters Doncic has looked gassed during March while he’s battled injuries and seen teammates clank countless wide open looks. It appeared he might limp his way to the finish line even with an impressive body of work through the first five months of the season. However, tonight Doncic looked like his old self scoring 23 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing 10 assists in only three quarters of play giving him his sixth triple double of the season. He, like Dirk, started out hot, putting up 11-7-5 in the first quarter alone. He connected on a few triples early and that set the tone for the rest of the game. While shooting 6-of-14 isn’t incredibly efficient, he shot 4-of-11 from three and a few of those were shots he threw up on broken plays. He also went 7-of-11 from the line, with the 11 free throw attempts being the takeaway. Dirk turns back the clock In his last game at Oracle Arena, the place that quite possibly still gives him nightmares, Nowitzki played his best game of the season to the tune of 21 points (season high) on 8-of-14 shooting (5-of-8 from three) and five rebounds. Dirk was sizzling early, connecting on his first four shots and scoring 10 points in the first quarter alone. It looked like the all-star game all over again, only this time it was against the defending champs in an actual NBA game. While it’s just a blip on the radar in Dirk’s historic career, it’s always fun to keep etching his name in the history books as he did tonight with his 21-point barrage. Dirk Nowitzki just became the eighth 40-year-old in NBA history to score 20 points in a game. — Bobby Karalla (@bobbykaralla) March 24, 2019 Sports don’t always have a storybook ending, but Dirk’s career at Oracle has come full circle. It’s the building he scored his first NBA point in. It’s the building his team had a historic playoff collapse in. And now, it’s the building he had a 20-point game in his fortieth year of life. What a farewell from the legend to Oracle. With this win the Mavericks move to 29-44 and get Sacramento at home on Tuesday.