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Luka Doncic, Mavericks Outlast Warriors Despite Stephen Curry's 57 Points
February 7, 2021
Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry scored 57 points, but Luka Doncic's 42-point, 11-assist night helped propel the Dallas Mavericks to a 134-132 home win over the Dubs at American Airlines Center on Saturday.
Curry hit 11 three-pointers and made 19 of 31 field goals overall. He had 30 points and seven three-pointers at halftime. Doncic went 12-of-23 from the field, making seven three-pointers along the way.
Curry's three-point play with 28.6 seconds remaining made the score 131-130 in Dallas' favor, but Doncic found Maxi Kleber for a corner three in return.
Warriors guard Damion Lee's tip-in cut the Mavs' lead to two with seven-tenths of a second remaining, but the Mavs ran out the clock after inbounding the ball.
Six Mavericks players scored in double digits, with Kristaps Porzingis posting an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double. Draymond Green stuffed the stat sheet with 15 assists, six rebounds, six steals and four blocks.
The 10-14 Mavericks had lost seven of their last eight leading into Saturday, including a 147-116 rout by the Dubs on Thursday. The Warriors fell to 12-11 after splitting the two-game set against Dallas.
Notable Performances
Warriors PG Stephen Curry: 57 points, 5 assists
Warriors SG Andrew Wiggins: 22 points, 5 rebounds
Warriors PF/C Draymond Green: 2 points, 15 assists, 6 rebounds, 6 steals, 4 blocks
Mavericks PG Luka Doncic: 42 points, 11 assists, 7 rebounds
Mavericks PF/C Kristaps Porzingis: 18 points, 10 rebounds
Mavericks PF Maxi Kleber: 16 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists
Curry Cruises to 57 Points
Midway through the third quarter, Curry casually pulled up from the Mavericks' home-court logo, closer to the half-court line than the top of the three-point arc. He drilled a three, giving himself 41 points with 7:34 remaining in the quarter.
It's not uncommon to see players like him, Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard and Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young do that, but it still defies logic that a shot from there isn't a bad one for a select few in the league.
Curry continued to defy logic all game, knocking down threes from everywhere and dominating offensively, scoring at will and keeping the Warriors in the game on a night when Doncic and the Mavs kept their foot on the gas for four quarters.
The ex-Davidson star converted a four-point play in the first quarter:
He created space for a step-back three with multiple Mavs in his vicinity:
The 13-year veteran surpassed 2,600 made threes for his career:
He ultimately finished with seven first-half threes, closing out with this one:
Curry couldn't let up in the second half, and he made his 10th three before the third quarter ended:
The 11th nearly helped the Warriors pull off a last-minute miracle, as Curry pulled the Dubs to within 131-127:
Kleber's three ended up being the final blow, but Curry's phenomenal night proved to be one of the highlights of the NBA season thus far.
Doncic Delivers in Big Win for Mavs
Saturday in Dallas was a night to celebrate great offensive basketball featuring two of the game's best stars. It was not one to praise excellent defense, which was not present much.
Granted, that's hard to do when you're tasked with guarding a player with unlimited range in Curry and a nightly triple-double machine in Doncic, who had no issues with Golden State all night.
He set the tone early by changing his pace en route to the rim:
His drives kept proving to be successful, as he evaded Kent Bazemore's outreach for another bucket:
Doncic's dominance in the paint continued, pulling off a Eurostep with the first half closing:
The ex-Real Madrid star didn't always need to score to push the Mavs offense, as he drew in the Warriors defense and found a cutting Dwight Powell for two:
In the end, however, it was a three-pointer that helped the Mavs earn the win, with Doncic's final points giving Dallas a 131-124 lead.
It was an encouraging night in a long season for the 10-14 Mavs, who have suffered numerous injuries and haven't found their stride one-third of the way into the season.
But on some nights, Doncic is simply unstoppable, to the point where he wills his team to a win. Saturday was one such example, and now Dallas will hope to keep the momentum going.
What's Next?
Both teams play Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Golden State will visit the San Antonio Spurs in AT&T Center, and Dallas will host the Minnesota Timberwolves.