Luca Donsic and the Dallas Mavericks had to wait for a rain delay in the middle of the game and sweat some exciting moments near the end.
Once they did, they avoided a sweep and were still alive in the Western Conference finals.
Donsick had 30 points and 14 rebounds, and the Mavericks beat the Golden State Warriors 119-109 in Game Four, while 16 minutes of rain delayed the start of the second half and the Warriors reduced the 29-point deficit to a single number late.
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“It simply came to our notice then. A win is a win, “said Donsik, who shot with only three of the 10 made three-pointers out of 26 but received a lot of help from his supporting cast.
It was the 10th double-double for Donsick in his 14 games this post season, including nine assists. When he had 40 points in three games, Reggie Bullock missed seven of the three-point range and shot 0-of-10.
Dorian Finney-Smith had 23 points from 9 of 13 and Bullock added 18 points to 6 of 10 – three-pointers. Jalen Brunson had 15 points and Maxi Kleber, who was shooting 2-of-14 (all three-pointers) in the first three games, hit two threes before halftime and was 5 out of 6 overall for 13 points.
“Everyone in that locker room thought we had more basketball to play,” Finney-Smith said. “We wanted to win anyway … it looks like we came out desperate in the first half.”
The defeat shattered the Warriors’ nine-game winning streak in the Western Conference Final Game, although they are still firmly in control of the series, returning to California for four games at AEST on Friday.
“It was almost like an arrogant victory (for Dallas). You come out and there is really nothing to lose. So that confidence started early, “said Warriors star Stephen Curry. “And we didn’t really do anything to slow it down, and then the snow started falling. You tip their hats. “
Curry had 20 points and returned to the game at 3:22 left – his first appearance in the fourth quarter – after the Warriors cut the 29-point deficit to 110-102. But even after Curry and the other starters returned to the floor, they never came close.
“We decided to see if a miracle could happen, but it wasn’t supposed to happen,” said coach Steve Kerr. “Dallas was great tonight. They deserved to win. It’s the final of the conference. That’s the way it should be.”
Donsick then drove for a dunk and Bullock got his sixth three-pointer, one of 20 long-range macs for the Mavericks, who now have 11 games this post-season and at least 15 three-point shots.
“I still believe we can win. Sweep or not sweep, if you lose, you lose, ”Doncic said. “Game by game must go.”
No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series. Of the 146 teams that fell into that deep hole, only three were able to force even the seventh game.
The Mavericks have only been in the top-seven once in their 34 series. It was against Oklahoma City in the first round of the 2012 playoffs, the previous season Dallas had won its only NBA title.
Rain has pierced the roof of the American Airlines Center, delaying it after halftime. It was raining hard outside, and there were at least two leaks. Water was pouring near a Golden State bench, and water was falling on a stand at the other end of the court.
This is the second delay this season in the 21-year-old building. The March 21 game against Minnesota was delayed by 15 minutes due to water falling near the spectators’ bench.
Dallas led 25-6 with about 7 minutes left in the second quarter when the Warriors missed nine of 10 shots and had two turnovers.
Golden State was leading 31-29 after Moses Moody’s jumper, then had only one basket in the next seven minutes. A three-pointer from Davis Bartons puts Mavericks ahead for the better.
Mavericks’ halftime was 62-47 when Donsick drove for a hard layup, responding to a curry basket at the other end.
There was a moment of silence shortly before the tip-off after an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Texas, about 600 kilometers west of San Antonio in the southern part of the state.
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