|
 Silver just wanted to enjoy watching his league's two
highest-scoring teams play an entertaining brand of basketball. And
that they did.
Stephen Curry became the second Golden State guard to top 50 points
in the past 12 days, pouring in a season-high 51 in the Warriors'
come-from-behind, 128-114 victory over the Mavericks in a nationally
televised game.
"I take pride in finding different kinds of ways to impact the game,
especially if we're in a hole like we were tonight," Curry said
after the Warriors' third consecutive win. "It's not just me making
shots. Everyone has to be in attack mode."
Less than two weeks after backcourt mate Klay Thompson used a
record-breaking, 37-point quarter as the foundation for a 52-point
night, Curry exploded for 26 of his 51 points in the third quarter
as Golden State, down by as many as 22 in the first period, took its
first lead of the game before pulling away late.
"Sometimes Stephen plays his best when we're down big," Warriors
coach Steve Kerr said. "He just senses that he has to put the
Superman cape on."
The Warriors (39-8) found themselves down 40-18 in the 11th minute
of the game before dominating the rest of the night en route to
their second win over the Mavericks this season and fifth straight
against Dallas overall. Golden State earned its third win this
season after trailing by as many as 15.
Curry was the catalyst of the comeback after the Golden State bench
helped the home team rally within striking distance in the second
quarter.
The All-Star bombed in six 3-pointers in the third period alone,
including three in a 2:16 stretch at mid-quarter during which the
Warriors went up by as many as six. They never trailed again.
"Huge win for us being resilient," Curry said. "We are a team that
never thinks we are out of the game, and everyone on that roster did
something to impact the game tonight."
Despite Curry's flurry, Golden State led just 101-98 to start the
fourth quarter before Warriors reserve guard Leandro Barbosa dropped
in a pair of hoops, including a 3-pointer, in a 7-0 burst that
extended the margin to 10.
The Mavericks weren't done. They rallied behind center Tyson
Chandler to within 112-107 with 6:25 to go before missing five
consecutive shots, after which Warriors reserve swingman Andre
Iguodala turned a steal into a dunk that re-established a
seven-point cushion.
"I thought Andre made the play of the game," Kerr said.
Dallas got back within five on three separate occasions, but Curry
kept the visitors at arm's length with 10 late points, including his
10th 3-pointer of the night in the final minute.
"He was making ridiculous shots," Kerr said. "There's no defense for
that. He took it upon himself to go nuts."
Curry's 51-point total was 11 higher than his previous season high,
and it marked the first time in his career he went over 40 points in
a home game. He connected on 16 of 26 shots in all.
Thompson sank four 3-pointers to account for a majority of his 18
points. Golden State improved to 23-2 at home this season.
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With Curry and Thompson combining to go 14-for-26 from long range,
the Warriors hit half of their 38 3-point attempts in the game.
"I've never seen anybody in this league hit shots like that from
that distance," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said of Curry. "He's
one of the very rare guys that we've ever had in this league, and we
just didn't do a good enough job on him."
Reserves Barbosa and center Marreese Speights added 14 points apiece
for the Warriors, who ran their streak of 100-point games to 19,
tops in the league.
Small forward Chandler Parsons scored a team-high 24 points for the
Mavericks, who had won three in a row, including their last two on
the road. Dallas shot 41.8 percent from the floor overall despite
scoring the nets at a 65.4 percent clip in the first period.
"It's a four-quarter league," Carlisle said. "We lost the second,
third and fourth quarters decisively, and so over a 48-minute game,
it just didn't hold up."
Chandler had a 21-point, 17-rebound double-double, and power forward
Dirk Nowitzki contributed 15 points for Dallas, which completes a
two-day, two-game trip Thursday at Sacramento.
The Mavericks (33-18) needed a little less than 11 minutes to build
a 22-point advantage. The Warriors then took 19 minutes to erase the
gap as the clubs battled to a 68-all tie in the third minute of the
third quarter.
Power forward Draymond Green's interior hoop at the 9:42 mark of the
third period got the Warriors even for the first time since 0-0.
When Thompson buried a 3-pointer 30 seconds later, Golden State had
its first lead of the night, 71-70.
NOTES: Warriors PG Stephen Curry recorded career-highs for points in
a quarter (26) and in a half (36) en route to his 51-point total.
... The 51 points were three shy of Curry's career high. ... The
Warriors' 19 3-pointers tied an NBA season high, matching the
Cleveland Cavaliers' output against the Atlanta Hawks on Nov. 15.
... Warriors C Andrew Bogut's fifth of eight rebounds was the
5,000th of his career. ... Having played 14 of their last 19 games
at home, the Warriors embark on a stretch with 10 of 11 on the road,
starting Friday night at Atlanta. ... The Mavericks played their
second consecutive game without starting PG Rajon Rondo, who is
expected to be out through the All-Star break with a left orbital
fracture.
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