ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — This is a continuation of the halftime recap of the Dallas Mavericks at the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors took a 52-40 lead into the third quarter.
3RD QUARTER: Bogut And The Black Falcon
After a quiet 6 rebounds in the first half, Andrew Bogut started the third quarter with some nice plays, dishing between the legs to Klay Thompson, then got the ball back from Klay, only to miss twice at point-blank range before getting the final putback.
Bogut then blocked Tyson Chandler‘s attempt at the rim. Stephen Curry came back on the other end, attacked the paint in early offense, and fell on the small of his back. It looked like he was in a bit of pain, but he got up with no major issues and did not appear to be bothered by it the rest of the game.
The #BlackFalcon then made an appearance after Dirk Nowitzki lost the ball to Draymond Green.
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Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle called timeout as Golden State had stretched their lead to 58-42 with 9:41 to go in the third.
Curry celebrated the dunk with a flap of the wings and met Green at halfcourt with the same, as they headed to the bench for the timeout.
The Warriors then withstood a three-pointer and jumper by Dirk, with Barnes getting a hanging reverse layup and Thompson a three-pointer from the left corner porch assisted by Green. Draymond added his own triple in front of Nowitzki, fed by Curry, and the Dubs maintained a 66-48 lead with 7:28 remaining.
Golden State victimized Rajon Rondo twice in succession for the team’s incredible 10th and 11th blocked shots of the night, the first an easy-pickens swat by Bogut and the second with Steph outsmarting Rondo’s patented fake-behind-the-back show of the ball, both rejected into the baseline stands.
Bogut then disrupted Amar’e Stoudemire at the rim and Curry led the break, piercing into the paint with a high-arcing layup that went off, but got cleaned up by a Green tip-in. The Warriors inched the lead out further, 72-54, with 4:33 to go. In came Shaun Livingston, giving Curry a breather.
The Warriors ended the frame with finesse, as Thompson got a layup on the baseline thanks to a beautiful lead pass by Bogut, and Andre Iguodala rebounded a long missed trey by Charlie Villanueva and slung the ball from three-quarter court to find Draymond for the touchdown.
That made it 76-57 with 3:15 left in the quarter, and the Warriors held serve until the buzzer, taking an 82-64 lead into the fourth.
Golden State had four players in double-figures: Curry and Green with 18, Thompson with 16, and Barnes with 12. Bogut added 13 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocked shots. Livingston added 7 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Dirk and Monta Ellis were a combined 6-for-24 from the field, with Ellis going 1-for-9. Rondo led the team with 14 quiet points.
4TH QUARTER: No Water For The Mavs
Ellis started the quarter for the Mavs with a finger roll layup, but Curry countered with a dribble-and-pop trey over the smaller Barea.
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Dallas would get two more points from the charity stripe from Nowitzki, but that would be all the scoring the Mavericks would get for the next 3 minutes, 32 seconds.
Curry would score his game-leading 22nd point after Nowitzki picked up a technical complaining to the ref.
At the 9:09 mark, the Warriors lead had accumulated to 88-68 and Festus Ezeli made a return to the ballgame, amid happy thoughts from the team’s domination.
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Ezeli got a baby hook to drop after being credited with an offensive rebound of a missed Livingston baseline jumper, although the loose ball was actually a controlled tip by Curry to the awaiting Festus already in the lane.
Ezeli followed that up with an alley-oop slam to give the Warriors a commanding 98-72 lead with 6:25 to play. This time, it was quite clear who got the assist.
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Festus added another bucket on one inside dribble after the catch, although it was preceded by a point-blank miss in which he drew nothing but glass.
Ezeli sat back down with a little more than three-and-a-half minutes to play and Justin Holiday, Leandro Barbosa, and Brandon Rush cleaned up the garbage alongside Livingston and Marreese Speights. David Lee did not play.
Curry led all scorers with 22 points on 6-for-11 field, 5-for-8 downtown, and 7 assists. Green added 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Barnes chipped in 12 points and Bogut 13 rebounds. Livingston had 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists in 28 minutes of play off the bench.
Ellis, the Mavericks’ leading scorer on the season, ended the night just 2-for-14 from the field. Nowitzki was 5-for-16 and the entire Dallas squad shot a combined
Despite 21 turnovers, the Warriors managed 11 blocked shots.
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