Stephen Curry’s 21 points and 12 rebounds has helped the Golden State Warriors motor towards a 112-87 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
The Warriors were dominant from the opening tip and began to pull away from the Mavericks in third quarter, outscoring them 34-24 in the frame. Curry finished the game with a game-high 21 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists on 7-of-16 from the field and 3-of-9 from three. Andrew Wiggins was superb for the Warriors from the start and finished with 19 points and 5 rebounds on 8-of-17 from the field, whilst Klay Thompson overcame a scoreless first half to finish with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists on 7-of-13 from the field. Jordan Poole, meanwhile, poured in an efficient 19 points off the bench, whilst Draymond Green had 10 points, 9 rebounds and several tone-setting defensive possessions for his team.
Dallas looked off the pace from early on, settling for perimeter shots and being generally outhustled by the home team. Jason Kidd’s men set a franchise-record in the opening quarter for three-point shot attempts, with an absurd 19 tries from deep. Luka Dončić led the way for Dallas with 20 points, 7 assists and 4 assists but struggled with his shot for much of the contest, hitting on just 6 of his 18 shot attempts. Spencer Dinwiddie added 17 points in his 24 minutes off the bench, whilst Jalen Brunson finished with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists but missed all on all 5 of his three-point attempts. An overreliance on the three cruelled Dallas, who made just 11 of their 48 attempts on the night; Brunson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Dāvis Bertāns, and Reggie Bullock shot just a combined 4-of-22 from three.
Golden State dominated in virtually every area of the game, particularly shooting the ball. The Warriors hit on 56 per cent of their field goal attempts and 35 per cent of their three-point attempts, whilst the Mavericks hit on 36 per cent and 23 per cent respectively. The Warriors dominated the rebounds and assists tallies and blocked six more shots than Dallas did. They also found more success in the paint and on the fast break.
Game 2 will be played again in San Francisco on Saturday morning (AEST), with the Warriors looking to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Whilst they overcame a 2-0 deficit against the one-seeded Suns, the Mavericks will be eager not to put themselves in that position again. Golden State’s defence was a cut above that of Phoenix’s today, as they held Dončić to his lowest scoring output of the playoffs. The winner will take home the inaugural Oscar Robertson Trophy, whilst the player deemed the series’ most valuable will be awarded the inaugural Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP Award.
