Mavericks rout Curry-less Warriors
Credit to Author: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE| Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2019 16:22:30 +0000
LOS ANGELES: 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.
“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.
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.
Durant is looking to their next game on Sunday against Detroit.
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.
Charlotte won its second straight, improved to 33-39 on the season.
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.
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Former MVP Rose undergoes right elbow surgery
WASHINGTON: Injury-nagged 2011 NBA Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose has undergone his latest operation, the Minnesota Timberwolves announced on Saturday (Sunday in Manila), saying he had arthroscopic surgery to remove right elbow bone chips.
Rose will be sidelined indefinitely but was already slated to miss the remainder of the regular season for the T-Wolves, who at 32-40 are one loss from being eliminated from playoff contention with 10 games remaining.
The 30-year-old point guard was a superstar playmaker for his hometown Chicago Bulls, but suffered a left knee injury in Chicago’s opening game of the 2012 NBA playoffs, missed the entire 2012-13 season and then suffered a right knee injury early in the 2013-14 campaign and missed most of that season as well.
Another knee injury followed and Rose was traded to New York in 2016, but in April 2017 suffered another left knee injury and underwent his fourth career knee surgery.
Rose played for Cleveland in the 2017-18 campaign before a trade to Utah, which released him. Rose signed with Minnesota and was reunited with ex-Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau.
AFP
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