Final: Mavs 114, Warriors 91

Box Score | Highlights

Behind the Box Score

Dallas took it to a depleted Warriors team, getting the ball into the paint on 36 of the 44 first-half possessions. Rick Carlisle’s largest criticism of his club so far this season has been that the Mavs aren’t the aggressors early or often enough, but that certainly wasn’t the case in this game.

The Mavs took an 18-point lead into halftime against a team that had previously lost just one game. To give you an idea of how rare a deficit like that is for Golden State, the last time the Warriors trailed by more than 14 points at intermission was April 5, 2015 against San Antonio.

Dallas led by 19 points after three quarters. At that point, every single Maverick had a positive plus-minus, while every single Warrior had a negative plus-minus. That’s when you know you’ve put together three solid, consistent quarters of basketball.

Notebook

  • The Mavericks are six games over .500. Keep in mind that, at the beginning of the season, Chandler Parsons and Wesley Matthews were recovering from significant injuries, and Deron Williams didn’t even participate in all of training camp because he, too, was battling various ailments. But the Mavs have come together much faster than most probably expected, doing so with chemistry, hard work, and obviously a ton of talent. You couldn’t think of a much better way to end 2015 than with a win against a team that was 29-1, even if it was without its best player. You can’t choose who you play, but you can certainly choose how you play.

  • This was the Mavs’ sixth straight game hitting 10+ 3s. They had one stretch of nine such games last season, otherwise it’s the team’s longest since the 1995-96 season. The franchise record for most games with 10+ treys is 11, and that’s going to be in serious danger if the team continues shooting it at this clip. In addition, this was the club’s fifth game this season with at least 14 three-pointers. Last season the Mavs reached that mark just seven times.

  • The Warriors were without Stephen Curry, Harrison Barnes, Festus Ezeli, and Leandro Barbosa. Anytime a team is playing without four major rotation players — one of them being the reigning MVP — that club is obviously going to be at a bit of a disadvantage. The Mavericks, meanwhile, were without their own starting point guard Deron Williams. Both teams were a bit shorthanded, and when that’s the case, you want your bench players to step up and contribute in a big way. In Williams’ stead, J.J. Barea had another incredible game, scoring 23 points and connecting on five three-pointers. He’s been on quite the tear for the last few games, which has been a major contributor to the team’s recent success. The only downside? We didn’t get to settle the debate over who’s better: Barea or Curry.

  • Dirk Nowitzki dunked! It was his fourth flush of the season, already matching last season’s total. For what it’s worth, Nowitzki has only recorded double-digit dunks once since the end of the 2009-10 season, so if he continues at this pace, we’ll see a bit of quirky history soon.

    What’s Next

    The Mavs (19-13) play the Miami Heat (18-13) Friday at AmericanAirlines Arena. Tip-off is at 6:30 p.m. Central.

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