San Francisco – Andrew Wiggins Scoring 12 of his team-high 23 points in the third quarter, the Warriors capitalized on two goals in the final three minutes to cruise to a decisive 104-100 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday at Chase Center.
Stephen Curry scored 13 points, seven assists and seven rebounds to help the Warriors win for the fifth time in a row. It's the third time this season that Golden State has won five games in a row.
The game got close again in the final moments after Kyrie Irving hit two free throws to cut the lead to 102-100 with 15 seconds left.
Klay Thompson was intentionally fouled and made two free throws to seal the win.
Golden State moved closer to clinching a playoff spot with a win. The Warriors (41-34) have a three-game lead over the Houston Rockets in the chase for 10th place in the Western Conference, with seven games remaining in the regular season. The Rockets lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier in the day.
Golden State led 94-92 at the end of the fourth quarter when Dallas' Daniel Gafford blocked his shot. But Gafford was booed for his goal, increasing the Warriors' lead to 96-92.
Green later tried to clear a Curry foul but the Mavericks were called for sponsoring the goal again.
A few moments later, Green blocked Gafford's shot, grabbed the rebound and then tossed it down the court before dribbling it as the crowd at Chase Center cheered.
Thompson scored 14 points. Green added 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
This is the Warriors' first win in three games against the Mavericks this season. That should give Golden State some momentum over the final seven games. These two teams play each other again on Friday in Dallas.
The Warriors got off to a slow start and trailed 9-0 before many fans found their seats. After Wiggins helped them get back into the lead at the end of the first quarter, the game remained tense until the end.
Here are excerpts from Tuesday's match:
Wigs return to their shape
Coming off one of his worst shooting games of the 2023-24 season, Wiggins got off to another slow start against the Mavs before suffering a stroke in the second half.
Wiggins, who missed five of his first seven attempts and went minus-1 in the first half, was sharper in the third quarter. He made four of his first five shots out of the break and scored 12 of the Warriors' 31 points in the third quarter.
Wiggs also spent a lot of time guarding Luka Doncic, who was consistent throughout the game, scoring 30 points while knocking down 20 shots. A few of his shots were wide open, with Wiggins and others trying to contain him.
With seven games remaining in the regular season, Wiggins is truly the X-factor for Golden State. When he's off duty, crime tends to splurge. But when he hits the ball as hard as he did against Dallas, there's a different, more confident feel to things.
The bench set comes back
Golden State's bench remains one of the best in the NBA, and he showed why once again while helping spark a win over Dallas.
As he has done most of the year, Paul provided a major spark with scoring goals, making plays and guiding the second unit. Paul shot 6 of 11 and had five assists.
Rookie Brandin Podzemski also had another solid all-around effort, proving why Warriors coaches don't care about him scoring. He scored five points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
Subjective pain
A large portion of the problems the Warriors had against the Mavs were more caused by themselves than anything caused by Dallas.
Golden State played well defensively but missed several open shots and once again had trouble taking care of the ball. The Warriors committed 17 turnovers that led to 25 points.
Everyone was guilty. Curry appeared to miss two shots that hit the side of the backboard and then made another turnover in the third quarter when he dribbled the ball off his foot.
Turnovers have been an issue for the Warriors for several seasons. This comes with their high-paced play. It is also one of the reasons why during the 2023-24 season the team has not been able to consistently find a smooth rhythm in attack.
Download and follow Dubs Talk Podcast
“Food ninja. Friendly thinker. Explorer. Entrepreneur. Zombie junkie.