LDN - Sports

Warriors, Curry scurry past Mavs 133-103

[October 24, 2017] DALLAS -- Stephen Curry escaped a suspension from the league on Monday night, then led the Golden State Warriors to a 133-103 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center.

Curry had to wait until Monday afternoon to get a verdict from the NBA office whether he would be allowed to play. During Golden State's 10-point loss at Memphis on Saturday, he lost his cool and chucked his mouthpiece in the direction of the referee.

Once he learned he would get only a $50,000 fine, the two-time league MVP finished with a game-high 29 points and added eight assists. He made up for cold 3-point shooting (2 of 10) by going 13 of 13 from the free-throw line to help the Warriors improve to 2-2.

Kevin Durant finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Klay Thompson added 21 points for Golden State. Draymond Green had 10 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

Thompson and Curry were just 5 of 19 combined from beyond the arc, and yet Golden State still shot 55.8 percent overall.

Curry's biggest assist might have come before the game when he visited with the nephew of Mavs guard Devin Harris, whose older brother, 38-year-old Bruce Harris, died last week in a car crash.

The meeting was set up in part by Curry's brother Seth, who plays for Dallas but has missed the first four games because of an injury.

"It's obviously hard sometimes to pick the right words to say in that situation because it's such a tough blow to the family," Curry said. "And for him at that age, I can't imagine what he's going through. But the best thing I could say is to lean on his family to give him that strength to get through this tough time."

Guard Wesley Matthews led Dallas with 19 points, netting 14 in a big first half. Harrison Barnes, Yogi Ferrell and J.J. Barea each had 13 points, Dirk Nowitzki scored 11 and rookie Dennis Smith Jr. had 10.

The Mavs (0-4) fell behind by 18 in the second quarter but used a 38-23 run to close the half trailing just 65-62.

"We can't put ourselves in the hole," Smith said. "We bounced back going into halftime, we almost tied it. That was just effort. We've got to come out the same way."

But the second half got off to an ominous start for the home team. Dallas was whistled before the clock even started for a delay-of-game technical foul for getting on the floor late.

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Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) steals the ball from Dallas Mavericks guard J.J. Barea (5) during the second half at the American Airlines Center. The Warriors defeat the Mavericks 133-103. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Curry hit the free throw to make it 66-62, and a rapid-fire four minutes later, Golden State had rebuilt a 15-point advantage.

The Warriors led 100-84 after three quarters and were off to the races.

"We've got to find a way to get into the left column," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said, referring to the win column in the standings. "That's a tough task."

A bit of controversy crept into the end of the game when Warriors reserve Jordan Bell passed to himself off the backboard on a breakaway and slammed the rebound, getting fouled on the play. Carlisle didn't like it, and Warriors coach Steve Kerr understood.

"I just told Rick I would talk to (Bell)," Kerr said. "He's a young guy, having fun out there, and he didn't even realize he had offended anybody. The older guys on our team -- Shaun (Livingston), David (West) -- you know, it's a different school of thought."

Dallas next plays a home-and-away back-to-back against the hot-starting Memphis Grizzlies, beginning with a Wednesday contest at the American Airlines Center. Golden State returns home to face the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.

NOTES: Warriors F Andre Iguodala was fined $15,000 for verbally abusing a game official Saturday as part of the same incident that led to Golden State G Stephen Curry's larger fine. ... Mavericks G Dennis Smith Jr. returned to the starting lineup after missing the previous two games with a left knee injury. .. Mavs G Devin Harris missed this third consecutive game after his older brother Bruce Harris died last week following a car crash. ... Dallas C/F Dirk Nowitzki joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history with 30,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 3,000 assists with the first of his two assists on Monday night.

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