The Warriors cruised to a 112-87 win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Steph Curry led all scorers with 21 points and 12 rebounds while Luka Doncic scored 20 points for Dallas.
Mavericks’ Poor Performance
Dallas shot 36 percent from the field while the Warriors shot 56.1 percent. The Mavericks, who rely on the 3-point shot, made only 11 of their 48 attempts—a really disappointing shooting night. Spencer Dinwiddie had 17 points for Dallas and Jalen Brunson added 14 points. Luka Doncic struggled to get his offense going the entire game.
For their Warriors, the offensive output was evenly spread. Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole each had 19 points while Klay had 15.
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Warriors Defense
Coach Steve Kerr started Kevon Looney over Poole in what seemed like a sensible decision. Looney’s defensive instincts and size provided a solid spring base. Looney’s presence in the paint allows Draymond Green to defend at the point or guard whomever. Andrew Wiggins is another one who did an excellent defensive job for the Warriors. He defended Doncic about as well as possible, picking him up full court and helping limit Doncic to 6 of 18 shooting and seven turnovers. An efficient defensive effort by the Warriors saw them hold Dallas to just 87 points.
The Warriors made sure they didn’t concede many switches onto their more vulnerable defenders. The likes of Curry and especially Poole have been targeted in the past. As for the Mavs and especially Luka Doncic, there won’t be many shooting nights like this. Doncic is too good to be kept quiet more than once in a series. Golden State must know that this is far from over.
