Stephen Curry had 21 points and a game-high 12 rebounds on Wednesday and Golden State held Luka Doncic in check as the Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks 112-87 for a 1-0 lead in Game 1 of their NBA Western Conference Finals.
Once Curry and Thompson slowed down, caught their breath and stopped rushing shots, the Splash Brothers got on a roll that proved too much for Dallas to stop.
Especially because Andrew Wiggins worked end to end to make sure Doncic could not get going.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“Just make him work, that was the main thing,” Wiggins said.
Doncic scored 20 points, but shot just six of 18 and three of 10 from deep. He made back-to-back three-pointers late in the first half to get his team within 54-45 at the break, but Curry and Thompson heated up and helped the Warriors pull away in the second half.
“A great job. That’s it,” Doncic said. “They did a great job.”
Jalen Brunson scored 14 points, but missed all five of his three-point attempts for the surprising Mavs, who stunned the top-seeded Suns in a 123-90 thumping in Game 7 in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday.
The Warriors reached five straight NBA Finals from 2015 to 2019, but missed the playoffs for the past two years before this run.
Wiggins added 19 points, getting Golden State going by making six of his first eight shots on the way to shooting eight of 17.
Jordan Poole scored 19 off the bench.
Doncic received a scratch across his face early from a first-quarter swipe by Wiggins.
The mark — “makes me look tough,” he quipped — went from the bridge of the star guard’s nose across his right cheek under the eye. Doncic also tugged at his troublesome right shoulder that has been taped previously during these playoffs.
“They did a really good job. Wiggins picking him up full court,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “They went box-and-one, they went zone. We understood coming into the series that we were going to see that. We’ll go back and look at the video and see what we can do better.”
Stopping Doncic, who was averaging 31.5 points in the playoffs, is the tall task this time after the Warriors already handled two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets in their first-round series, then Ja Morant early in the second-round series, before his knee injury.
“I thought Wiggs was fantastic,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Doncic is as difficult a cover as there is in this league... It’s important to make him work. He’s so good. Any great player in the league you’re trying to limit the damage that they do.”
Curry missed his initial five three-point attempts before connecting late in the first half.
However, he got involved other ways by dishing out four assists and grabbing seven rebounds.
Then he hit two quick threes in sparking a 10-2 burst to begin the third for a Golden State squad who eliminated Memphis in a six-game semi-final series.
“It is how we play,” Curry said. “When you have that ability to create separation like we did in the third quarter, it’s a fun way to play.”
Thompson scored all of his 15 points after halftime.
“I didn’t have a field goal in the first half, but that will never discourage me,” Thompson said. “I will always hunt my shot.”
Kevon Looney remained in the starting lineup for Kerr as the coach made his return to the bench after sitting out the final three games against Memphis with COVID-19.
“It was great to be back. I missed being out there with the guys,” Kerr said. “Amazing atmosphere here at Chase and we’re excited to keep going.”
Looney finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists after coming in to start the Game 6 clincher against the Grizzlies.
Kidd’s Mavericks could not keep up in a drastic contrast of styles featuring the slow-paced Dallas attack and up-tempo Warriors.
“We would like to play our pace, but the Warriors have a unique pace, they’re going to get out and put a lot of pressure on your defense in transition,” Kidd said. “We have to be cautious of that. We don’t want a track meet.”
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