The Dallas Mavericks avoided being eliminated from the NBA playoffs. In the Western Conference Finals series, the Mavericks defeated the Golden State Warriors 119-109 (62-47). The Texans thus reduced the best-of-seven series to 1:3.
Star player Luka Doncic, voted into the top team of the season by the North American professional basketball league NBA, missed a so-called triple double with 30 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists by just one assist. The Slovenian got plenty of support this time offensively. Dorian Finney-Smith (23 points), Reggie Bullock (18) and international Maxi Kleber (13) hit more than half of their throws, including from the three-pointer line. At Golden State, the starting five around Stephen Curry in particular did not have a good day.
By the end of the third quarter, the Mavericks were leading by 29 points. When Dallas blew out a little early in the final quarter, the Warriors closed the gap to within eight points with three minutes remaining. But in the final phase, Dallas was able to take the lead safely over time.
Golden State now has the next chance to make it into the NBA finals perfectly in the night from Thursday to Friday in its own hall. Never in the NBA’s 75-year history has a team gambled away a 3-0 lead in a playoff series.