Dallas, May 25 (BUS): Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks had to wait due to rain in the middle of the game and sweating in some tense moments towards the end.
Once they did, they avoided a sweep and were still alive in the Western Conference Finals, according to the Associated Press.
Doncic scored 30 points and 14 rebounds, and the Mavericks beat Golden State 119-109 in Game Four on Tuesday night, when there was a 16-minute delay due to rain early in the second half and the Warriors cut the 29-point difference. to number one late.
“Just have to finish the game,” said Doncic, who was 10 out of 26 shooting with only three out of 3s but got a lot of help from his support team.
It was the double 10th time in 14 games this post-season for Doncic, who also had nine assists. When he had 40 points in Game 3, Reggie Bullock shot 0 for 10 with seven fouls out of a 3-point range.
Dorian Finney-Smith scored 23 points on a 9-of-13 shootout, and Bullock added 18 points on 6 of 10 3-shots all. Galen Bronson scored 15 points and Maxi Kleiber, who had shot 2 of 14 (every 3 seconds) in his first three games, had a 2 3 before halftime and was 5 of 6 shots overall for 13 points.
“Everyone in the locker room felt we had more basketball to play,” Vinnie Smith said. “We just wanted to win anyway. … I feel like we came out desperate in the first half.”
The loss interrupted the Warriors’ nine-game winning streak in the Western Conference Finals, although they still tightly controlled the series, and they returned to California for Game Five Thursday night.
“It was like an ego win (for Dallas). You go out and you really have nothing to lose. That confidence started early on,” Stephen Curry said. “And we really didn’t do anything to slow it down, which is when the avalanche started. You tip your hat to them.”
Curry picked up 20 points and got back into the game just before 3:22 left – his first appearance in the fourth quarter – after the Warriors cut their 29-point delay to 110-102. But they never got close even after Curry and the other starters are back on Earth.
“I made the decision to see if we could do a miracle, but it wasn’t supposed to be the case,” coach Steve Kerr said. “Dallas was great tonight. They deserved to win. These are the conference finals. That’s how it’s supposed to be.”
Doncic then set out for a dip and Bullock had the sixth 3-pointer, out of 20 long-range makings for the Mavericks, who now have 11 games in the post-season with at least 15 3-s.
“I still think we can win. You sweep or not, if you lose, you lose,” Doncic said. “I have to go game by game.”
No team in the NBA has ever come from behind from 3-0 to win a series. Only three of the 146 teams that fell into that deep hole managed to force a seventh game.
The Mavericks have been swept into the top seven only once in 34 of the series. That was against Oklahoma City in the first round of the 2012 playoffs, after Dallas won their only NBA title the previous season.
Rain seeping through the roof of the American Airlines Center caused delays after the break. There was heavy rain outside, and there were at least two leaks. One of them was dropping water near the Golden State bench, and at the other end of the tiles the water seemed to be falling into the stands.
This is the second such delay this season in the 21-year-old building. The start of the March 21 game against Minnesota was delayed by 15 minutes due to water falling near the visitors’ bench.
Dallas advanced to stay with a 25-6 run over the nearly 7 minute period of the second quarter during which the Warriors missed nine out of 10 shots and scored twice.
Golden State took a 31-29 lead after being jumped by Moses Moody, then only scored one basket in the next seven minutes. 3-pointer by Davis Bertans put the Mavericks ahead forever.
The Mavericks had a 62-47 break after leading Doncic to a hard throw, in response to Curry’s basket at the other end.
a moment of silence
A moment of silence before receiving the information came hours after an 18-year-old gunman opened fire on a Texas elementary school about 375 miles away in Ovaldi, Texas, which is west of San Antonio in the southern part of the state. The moment also defined a trained teacher from Palestine, Texas, who was killed when a driver hit his car the wrong way while driving more than 100 miles home from Game 3 on Sunday night. Two students were injured with him.
Number 100 in Curry 20
Curry had a 100 playoff score of 20 points. He is the 16th player to achieve this. All the others before him are either inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, are still active players, or are retired and not yet eligible to enter the induction hall—like Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki.
Porter outside
The Warriors were without Otto Porter Jr., who averaged 10.5 points for 82% in the first two games before leaving Game 3 due to a left foot injury. Not worn tuesday.
short stop
Draymond Green went to the free-throw line midway through the third quarter and his first attempt was stopped completely on the wide back side of the edge. After Doncic and Green stood in the lane laughing at it, the ball was eventually dropped. Then Green missed the second attempt as well, bouncing off Doncic.