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The Warriors avenged their previous loss to the Dallas Mavericks, coming out with an interesting 120-116 win at home. The four-game Mavericks-Warriors series is now tied at one-apiece.
Both the teams had faced heart-aching single-digit losses coming into this one. The Warriors had just dropped one against Utah while the Mavericks had just been bested by the Nuggets and Clippers. Effectively, a loss in this one as well means that Dallas has now been defeated in five of their last ten matchups.
They have now lost four straight and slid to a 15-15 record on the season, down at the 11th position in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, the Warriors are still stuck at the dreaded third position on the standings(below Denver and Oklahoma) with a 21-11(0.656) record after the win. They are next in line to face the Clippers before their highly awaited Christmas Day clash with LeBron and his Lakers.
Let's draw out some key takeaways from this effort win by the Warriors over the ailing Mavericks, as they dropped to 2-13 on the road and 1-11 away vs. the Western Conference.
#1 Jonas Jerebko came off the bench and had himself a career-night
This is only the second time this season that Jonas has scored 20 or more for the Warriors, the previous one being against the Raptors last month.
In this marquee matchup against Luka and the Mavericks, he finished with a career-high total of 23 points, along with six rebounds(four of them being on the offensive glass), shooting an impressive 10-of-12 from the field.
Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry finished with 29 and 22 respectively, but Jerebko's contribution off the bench in just 21 minutes on the court played a huge in edging past the sturdy Mavericks.
"This is a very accomplished team, so I'm just trying to fit in where I can and do whatever it takes," Jerebko said.
Jerebko was only one of three Warriors to score 20+ points in this matchup, showing just how big of a steal he is on a minimum contract.
#2 Seven of the Mavericks players scored in double-digits
Although Durant hit a dagger three-pointer to seal the deal in the final seconds of the game, the Mavericks still put up a solid effort throughout the 48 minutes of play.
Wesley Matthews led the scoring with 25 points while Luka Doncic dropped 19 on a night when seven Mavericks scored in double digits. DJ had an imposing 23-rebound outing as all starters contributed at least 10 points.
As a unit, they shot a decent 45% from the field and a respectable 35% from beyond the arc, outscoring the Warriors 50-38 in the paint.
Barnes shot 0-of-7 from the distance but still finished with 17 points, later retrospecting his team's effort this season,
"This season we've done a good job of fighting and going up against adversity," Barnes said. "Tonight was one of those things where they got into a rhythm, we got down a little bit there in the second half and we battled within a couple points."
#3 Draymond's ordinary numbers after return from injury are worrisome
Against the Mavericks, Draymond Green had 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists in 35 minutes of action. He shot 6-of-11 from the field.
Before this game, he had scored a total of just 27 points in the previous six matchups leading up to this one, before which he had been out for 11 games due to injury. The last time he scored in double digits was in October against the Pelicans and is averaging a dismal 6.9 points per game this season so far.
The team is cognizant of the fact he is yet to be comfortable shooting in a team that feeds off of it.
"He's talked about it. It's no secret he wants to shoot the ball better," Curry said. "It gives us a nice little energy boost when he just shoots with confidence, no matter if he makes or misses really."
