The Dallas Mavericks guard Trey Burke (3) tries to shut down Golden State Warrior guard Stephen Curry (30) from bringing the ball up court on Tue Apr 27, 2021 at the Chase Center in San Francisco (@dallasmavs photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The visiting Dallas Mavericks (34-27), hoping to rebound from a loss to the Sacramento Kings Monday night, routed the Golden State Warriors (31-31) 133-103. The final score did not indicate how poorly the Warriors played. The Mavericks game plan was to find a way to stop Stephen Curry from beating them. Their plan worked. The Warriors played one of their worst first 24 minutes of play in team history.

The game was close for the first 3:20. Curry connected on a three to put the Warriors ahead 12-11 with 8:40 left in the first quarter. That was the last time the Warriors would be in the lead. They did not score another point in the first period. Dallas went on a 25-0 run to finish the quarter with a 24-point lead 36-12. 

Dallas started the second quarter with a three. The Warriors finally made a basket. Dallas’ defense smothered the Warriors offense. Dallas outscored them 26-17 to finish the first half with a commanding lead 62-29. The game was over for all intents and purposes, even with 24 minutes left to play.

Dallas’ all-world forward Luka Doncic poured in 23 points in the third quarter to finish the night with 39 points. He made shots from all angles. He was Merlin the magician Tuesday night. Curry tallied 15 to finish with 27. Dallas led by 39 points 103-64.

It’s a shame that the NBA doesn’t have a mercy rule. There was no way to overcome a 39-point deficit with 12 minutes left. Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr pulled their stars from the game. The reserves from both teams played the last 12 minutes. The Warriors bench outscored the Dallas bench by nine. The Mavericks won 133-103.

Game Notes and Stats: With the loss, the Warriors are 31-31 for the year. The Warriors have ten games left on the schedule. They play the next four games on the road and finish the season with six at the Chase Center. Dallas improved to 34-27. Dallas took two of the three games played against the Warriors this season.

The Warrior stats from the first half show how poorly they played/ Curry was the only player in double figures with 12. Andrew Wiggins was second with seven. No other Warrior had more than three points. They shot 28% from the floor. They were three-for-nineteen from downtown. Luka Doncic led Dallas with 16. 

Curry led the Warriors with 27. He was 9-for-18 from the floor and knocked down five threes in nine tries. Mychal Mulder finished with a career-high 26 points. Mulder was 10-for-16 from the floor, and he connected on six threes in 11 attempts. Wiggins had 15, Kelly Oubre, Jr. 10, and Jordan Poole 10. Luka Doncic had 39 for Dallas. Dorian Finney-Smith 13, Tim Hardaway, Jr. 13, Nicolo Melli 13, Jalen Brunson 12, and Maxi Kleber 10. 

The Warriors begin a four-game road trip Thursday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The second game is against the Oklahoma City Thunder, then two against the Pelicans in New Orleans. Thursday night’s game starts at 5 pm.