Mavericks hand Warriors worst loss
Credit to Author: Tempo Online| Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2019 15:18:18 +0000
LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Luka Doncic had a triple double and Dirk Nowitzki underlined his final game at Oracle Arena with a throwback performance as the Dallas Mavericks handed the Golden State Warriors their worst loss of the season on Saturday.
Doncic finished with a game high 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists and Nowitzki, who is likely in his final NBA season, scored a season high 21 points in a 126-91 blowout victory by the visiting Mavs.
Dwight Powell (7) of the Dallas Mavericks dunks the ball against the Golden State Warriors at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. The Mavericks won, 126-91. (AFP)
‘‘The last few games I didn’t have a good shooting rhythm,’’ said the 40-year-old Nowitzki, who started after coming off the bench for most of the season. ‘‘Today, I had it early and often.’’
Germany’s Nowitzki scored 10 of the game’s first 16 points, helping Dallas seize a 14-2 early lead. He was cheered loudly in the introductions by the crowd at Oracle, which is scheduled to close at the end of the season.
‘‘I really enjoyed my time here. I played against some great players,’’ said Nowitzki, adding he scored his first NBA basket at the venue.
Nowitzki had five three pointers and Doncic and Maxi Kleber each drained four as Dallas outscored the Warriors 63-12 from beyond the arc to earn their first win in Golden State since 2012.
The loss on their home floor came on a night when the Warriors chose to sit out Stephen Curry.
The 35-point margin of defeat was the largest of the season for Golden State, eclipsing a 33-point rout by the Boston Celtics.
‘‘We just couldn’t pull together after that slow start and we never could get any traction in the game,’’ Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. ‘‘So we just kind of flush this one down the toilet and move on to tomorrow, not much else to do.’’
The Mavericks had a 50-point win over Utah and a 38-pointer over Charlotte earlier in the season.
Kevin Durant had 25 points in 29 minutes for the Warriors, who had won four of their previous five games. Durant missed all eight of his three point attempts.
Draymond Green said the Warriors have trouble getting motivated to play the Mavericks.
‘‘Sometimes playing against that team doesn’t get you up so we had to find energy from somewhere else and we didn’t,’’ Green said.
Durant is looking to their next game on Sunday against Detroit.
‘‘The guys have been part of terrible games before and great ones. We play tomorrow night,’’ he said.
Elsewhere, Kemba Walker scored 18 of his game-high 36 points in the fourth quarter and the Charlotte Hornets kept their slim playoff hopes alive by rallying to beat the Boston Celtics 124-117.
Walker added 11 rebounds and nine assists in his 23rd game this season scoring 30 or more points.
Rookie Miles Bridges scored a career-high 20 points, Marvin Williams and Malik Monk added 13 points apiece and Dwayne Bacon scored 11.
Charlotte won its second straight, improved to 33-39 on the season.
Kyrie Irving led Boston with 31 points. Jaylen Brown added 29 points and Marcus Morris 15.
Also, Trae Young scored 32 points, including a last-second, go-ahead clutch basket, as the Atlanta Hawks snapped the Philadelphia 76ers six-game winning streak with a 129-127 win.