The Dallas Mavericks didn’t make it easy on themselves, missing free throws and open dunks.
But they made enough plays down the stretch to knock off the two-time defending champions on Saturday night at the American Airlines Center.
The Mavericks’ 112-109 victory over the Golden State Warriors is a signature win in this young season.
Prized rookie Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 24 points, including 12 points in the first quarter, Harrison Barnes scored 23 and DeAndre Jordan had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
“I just wanna say it was an amazing game,” Doncic said. “We did a great job. They are the NBA champions for several times, so it was tough but I like my team. I love Dallas, so we were playing great.”
Dallas hadn’t defeated Golden State since Dec. 30, 2015, and had lost 17 of the previous 18 matchups going into it. But Saturday provided a perfect storm for a Mavs win.
Dallas had won four of its last five, including a 50-point win over Utah on Wednesday.
Golden State, meanwhile, had lost three of its last five, including a 21-point loss at Houston on Thursday and is still dealing with the drama surrounding a verbal spat between Durant and Draymond Green during Monday’s overtime loss to the LA Clippers.
Plus, just like in the Mavs’ victory in 2015, the Warriors were without star guard Stephen Curry (groin).
But Golden State still had arguably the best player in the league on the floor with Durant, who scored a game-high 32 points.
In the final minutes, it was Dallas that made more plays. Doncic made a floating jumper in the lane to give the Mavs a 109-108 lead with 1:10 left.
Durant clanked a turnaround jumper off the rim with one-minute left, struggling to get a good look with Barnes defending him.
“We had great looks,” Durant said. “Missed five or six good looks. I wish I could knock those shots down for the team, but glad we’ve got a game tomorrow.”
Dallas hung on from there, taking a two-possession on a pair of free throws by Doncic.
For much of the game, though, it seemed like free throws and missed opportunities would doom the Mavs.
Dallas missed 12 free throws on the night (22-for-34), didn’t turn a pair of fourth-quarter blocks by Maxi Kleber into points and saw Dennis Smith Jr. miss a wide-open dunk attempt in the first quarter.
In the end, none of those blunders mattered. The Warriors are simply a team in disarray even though they are saying the right things for now.
Curry spoke to reporters for the first time since the Durant/ Green incident before the game.
“I’m extremely proud of the way we’ve handled this last week because there was an opportunity for us to implode and crumble. But that’s not going to happen,” Curry said. “One incident in November can’t taint the next six months of what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Said Durant: “Are we going to talk about this the whole year? We just want to play ball. I know that’s all I want to do.”
The Warriors will likely be all right in the long run, but losing to the Mavs is another setback in trying to get back on track.
This is a Warriors team that got off to a sluggish start, including Durant and coach Steve Kerr being called for technical fouls in the first quarter. Neither was happy about a non-call on Durant.
Durant had three turnovers in the opening quarter, but settled in after that. Golden State went on a stretch of making 11-of-12 from the field in the second quarter, and it appeared the Warriors were back to the Warriors.
But the Mavs didn’t back down and held on for an impressive win over the defending champions.
“There were a lot of ups and downs,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “When you work as hard as we did, you get luck to go your way.”