DALLAS – The Golden State Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks 109-100 and seem closer than ever to returning to the Finals, where they spent five consecutive years before the pandemic hit.
The Warriors seem to play loose and without pressure at home or on the road; in this case in a packed arena at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, which received 20,813 fans, most of whom at the end seemed already resigned to waking up from the dream of the NBA Finals, with the sole objective of avoiding being swept on Tuesday.
No team in NBA postseason history has risen to win a series in which they trailed 3-0.
“One game at a time,” the Dallas guard said. Jalen Brunson. “Flat and simple, one game at a time, that’s all we’ve got. We’ve got to pick up our game in the third quarter, grab our rebounds and when the going gets tough we’ve got to stick together, like we’ve done all year.”
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
one.- There are times when the Warriors seem unstoppable and even when going through their toughest moments they have seemed superior to the Mavericks in most important aspects of the game; statistical and intangible.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors on Sunday with 31 points and 11 assists. Klay Thompson he scored 19 points, but his defense was nearly impenetrable all the way down the court.
Golden State again broke away in the third quarter, as it has throughout the series. In Game 3, they won 30-21 that quarter to turn a 1-point deficit over Dallas into 10 entering the fourth quarter.
two.- The role players, the ones in the usual rotation of the game, who are far from being the stars, are behaving as such for the Warriors. Andrew Wiggins had another great night, which included 27 points and 11 rebounds. As if that were not enough, he nailed a ball in the hoop over Luka Doncićwhich will become a classic and ended up igniting his team.
Kevin Looney did what he wanted down the board again with 12 rebounds, either against Dwight Powell, Maxi Cleber or Davis Bertan. He also scored 9 points.
jordan poole He left the American Airlines Center with another 10 points, from the five Warriors who were in double figures on offense and six who had at least five rebounds.
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Beyond the spectacular dump on Luka Donkic. The Canadian is averaging 20.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game against Dallas. Here we show you the best plays of him in the last game.
3.- The Warriors are the best series closers in the NBA under Steve Kerr, who is only the second coach to have 11 postseason series with a 3-0 lead and is one likely win Tuesday away from advancing his sixth Finals in the last eight seasons.
Also, the record for teams that went 3-0 in the playoffs is 146-0. So the outlook looks pretty positive for Golden State, especially if they continue to dominate the second half of games like they have.
The Warriors have +332 points in the third period under Kerr in the third period of the postseason; the fourth-largest differential for any team with a single coach and they are fifth in the fourth quarter.
THE DALLAS MAVERICKS
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We review the 8 most spectacular dunks that the Warriors and Mavericks gave us in the game played in Dallas.
one.- Mavericks forget team play: Doncic tied Sunday’s unfortunate mark for most games with at least 40 points but resulting in losses (3) in the postseason.
Doncic scored 21 of his points in the final period of a 63-51 second half loss. However, the Warriors outscored Dallas by 19 points when the Slovenian was on the floor.
Spencer Dinwiddie (26) and Brunson (20) were the only ones who actually cooperated on the scoreboard for Dallas. Except for Brunson, the rest of the starting lineup scored 12 points. And beyond Dinwiddie, the bench scored another two points. So it is impossible to defeat the Warriors.
two.- Presence and physicality are lacking: Down the board Powell and Kleber remained non-existent like the entire series for the Mavericks. The two combined for three points and four fouls in three minutes on the court between them.
The Mavericks were outscored by 14 rebounds, 12 points in the paint and, even worse, 14 points on second chances because Dallas lacks aggressiveness and physicality. Whether with a “big” or “small” lineup, the locals never found, on Sunday, like the entire series, to prevail in the transcendent moments.
Reggie Bullock he finished with no points on 10 shots at the rim.
3.- Let’s play loose which could be the end: If Dallas wants to avoid the sweep, they have to take advantage of the low moments of the Warriors to take advantage, defend it and take advantage of everything they have within their reach, without giving anything away.
On Sunday, for example, the Mavericks sent Golden State to the free throw line 34 times, resulting in 27 of their 109 points … In the second quarter, there was one point in which the Warriors were shooting just 12 percent. of his 3-pointers and Dallas never took a double-digit advantage on offense, to make a “cushion” because at some point the rival shooters are going to start their rhythm.
The Mavericks have to play loose and without pressure on Tuesday in their arena in their series that already seems defined, even to themselves.
“This is a great lesson for us,” Doncic said at the end of the match. “This is not the end. This is just the beginning.”
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Golden State heads to its sixth Finals in eight tournaments