9:00 PM EST, TNT – Line: Warriors -7, Over/Under: 215.5
After managing to avoid the sweep, the Dallas Mavericks hit the road to San Francisco, where the Warriors look take one more crack at advancing to their first NBA Final since 2019, in Game Five of this Western Conference Final from Chase Center. In their attempt to prolong what has history has taught us to be nothing short of inevitable, the Mavericks’ (52-30, 4th in Western Conference) resilience was once again on display in Tuesday night’s 119-109 victory at American Airlines Center, their first in this series. However, striking back to take a game when you’re trailing 0-3 is one thing, the real question is whether or not they have it in them steal one on the road to send this affair back to the Lone Star State. After all, Dallas has been one of the most resilient teams in these playoffs, evidenced by their journey to this point; the Mavs overcame playing without (All-NBA Guard) Luka Doncic (28.4 PTS, 45.7% FG, 35.3% 3FG, 74.4%, 9.1 REB, 8.7 AST, 1.2 STL, 0.6 BLK, 25.1 PER) for the first three games of their opening round battle with the Jazz, and rallied back from an 0-2 deficit against the top-seeded Suns to stun the basketball world with the largest road win in a Game Seven in NBA history (123-90). Yes, they’ve run into a proverbial brick wall in the form of the Warriors, who had outscored them by an average margin of 13.7 points through the first three games, manhandled them on the glass by a margin of 14.3 rebounds, and dished out 10.3 more assists per contest. So, how did (Head Coach) Jason Kidd’s troops finally breakthrough in Game Four, you ask? Well, we can certainly question how focused that the Dubs were in closing this series out (more on that in a bit), but for the first time in this matchup, the Mavericks’ offense fired on all cylinders. After a tightly contested first quarter, the hosts separated themselves in the second period, where they outscored the visitors 34-23, shooting 11-of-23 from the field (47.8%), including 4-of-11 from beyond the arc (36.4%), and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe (80.0%), while winning the battle of the boards (14-12), and dishing out seven turnovers in comparison to committing ZERO assists. (Emerging Guard) Jalen Brunson (16.3 PTS, 50.2% FG, 37.3% 3FG, 84.0% FT, 3.9 REB, 4.8 AST, 0.8 STL, 17.1 PER) scored ten of his fifteen points in the quarter, on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting (100.0%) from the field. Leading 62-47 at halftime, it was more of the same in the third period, which is where Dallas extended their lead to as much as TWENTY-NINE points, shooting a torrid 14-of-22 from the floor (63.6%), and 8-of-13 from downtown (61.5%), with ten more dimes opposed to only a pair of turnovers, with Doncic and (unheralded Forward) Dorian Finney-Smith (11.0 PTS, 47.1% FG, 39.5% 3FG, 67.5% FT, 4.7 REB, 1.9 AST, 1.1 TL, 0.5 BLK, 12.5 PER) logging eight points apiece along the way. However, things would get very interesting in the final stanza, where Golden State managed to cut the deficit to eight points largely with their backups, though Kidd’s charges put an end to their rally thanks to a dunk from Doncic, a trey from (veteran sharpshooter) Reggie Bullock (8.6 PTS, 40.1% FG, 36.0% 3FG, 83.3% FT, 3.5 REB, 1.2 AST, 0.6 STL, 9.2 PER), a layup from Finney-Smith, and finally a pair of free-throws from the Slovenian international to extend the series. In the end, the home side shot a stellar 50.0% from the field and held a sizeable advantage from the perimeter where they knocked down a whopping 20-of-43 treys (46.5%), which parlayed into 30-point margin between the teams. They also moved the ball with ease for the first time in this series, dishing out a total of THIRTY assists, which were just two dimes shy of their combined total from Games One and Three. Furthermore, they finally pulled their weight on the glass (45-42), and took excellent care of the basketball, committing eight turnovers which were manufactured into a mere six points. Six different players scored in double-figures for the Mavs, led by Doncic (30 points, 14 rebounds 9 assists), who received the support that he had been in need of, as Finney-Smith broke loose with twenty-three points on 9-of-13 shooting (69.2%), including 4-of-7 from three (57.1%), six boards and a pair of assists, while Bullock bounced back from a 0-point performance with eighteen on 6-of-10 shooting (60.0%), all of which came from deep. Lasty, the bench was well-represented with (veteran Guard) Spencer Dinwiddie (15.8 PTS, 49.8% FG, 40.4% 3FG, 72.5% FT, 3.1 REB, 3.9 AST, 0.7 STL, 19.0 PER) and (sharpshooting Forward) Maxi Kleber (7.0 PTS, 39.8% FG, 32.5% 3FG, 70.8% FT, 5.9 REB, 1.2 AST, 0.5 STL, 1.0 BLK, 11.0 PER) combined for twenty-three points, with the former totaling eight assists while the latter put in a grown-man’s shift on the glass (8 rebounds) and blocking three shots. Basically, everything that had been working against the Mavericks throughout this series finally turned in their favor, though the lingering question is whether or not this performance was nothing more than an aberration, or a sign of greater fight left in a team that has proven capable of overcoming adversity. With that said, the numbers are still the numbers, and they tell us that when teams fall behind 0-3 in a best-of-seven series, they are a harrowing 0-146 all-time, with only a few even managing to force a decisive Game Seven. In this case, Dallas just needs to focus on forcing a sixth game and take it from there.
Meanwhile, though they failed to close out the Mavericks in four games, the Warriors (53-29, 3rd in Western Conference) still have (potentially) four more opportunities to take care of business and return to the NBA Finals for the first time in three years. Indeed, Tuesday night’s 119-109 loss felt like a game in which Golden State knew that they were in control of things, approaching the contest with an inevitability that they’ve been well-acquainted with in the past. Is this playing with fire, you ask? (Head Coach) Steve Kerr will say yes, but history tells us something very different, for as we all know, teams that have established a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven series have NEVER met defeat in 146 instances. However, while the core of their dynasty remains in place, there is a train of thought that this team isn’t necessarily the unstoppable juggernaut that they were in advancing to five consecutive Finals from 2015 to 2019 and collecting three Larry O’Brien trophies along the way. After all, we’ve been here before, haven’t we? Golden State had an opportunity to sweep Denver in the First Round, and after coming up short in Game Four, returned home to Chase Center to close things out in a narrow 102-98 victory. In the Western Semifinals, the had a shot of eliminating Memphis on the road, and after suffering a 39-point debacle in Game Five, ended the affair in San Francisco in a 110-96 triumph two days later. And now they are heading back to the west coast with an opportunity to close once more. Sensing a trend here? Game Four started in reasonably competitive fashion, with the Dubs trailing 28-24 in the first quarter despite shooting a dismal 8-of-21 from the field (38.1%), including 1-of-7 from beyond the arc (14.3%), as (two-time MVP) Steph Curry (25.5 PTS, 43.7% FG, 38.0% 3FG, 92.3% FT, 5.2 REB, 6.3 AST, 1.3 STL, 21.4 PER) carried his side with ten points on 3-of-5 shooting (60.0%), three rebounds, and a pair of assists. As we covered earlier, the hosts would go on a tear in the second and third quarters, outscoring the visitors 71-46, prompting Kerr to pull his starters in the early stages of the fourth period, though as we’ve seen before in this postseason, they managed to rally back on the strength of their supporting cast, which took a 29-point deficit and trimmed it down to EIGHT with 3:23 left in the game. During this stretch, the Warriors outscored the hosts 32-11 thanks in large part to the more unheralded members of the rotation, particularly (unheralded Guard) Jordan Poole (18.5 PTS, 44.8% FG, 36.4% 3FG, 92.5% FT, 3.4 REB, 4.0 AST, 0.8 STL, 16.1 PER) and (Rookie Forward) Jonathan Kuminga (9.3 PTS, 51.3% FG, 33.6% 3FG, 68.4% FT, 3.3 REB, 0.9 AST, 15.2 PER) combined for sixteen points on 5-of-8 shooting (62.5%), with the former dishing out four assists and the latter netting 3-of-4 free-throws (75.0%). Kerr would put his big guns back in for crunch time, but Dallas managed to snap out of it and send the series back to San Francisco. In the end, Golden State shot a healthy 48.8% from the field, though where a tepid 10-of-28 from downtown (35.7%) and 17-of-26 from the charity stripe (65.4%), while for the first time in this series losing the battle on the glass (-3) and in terms of assists (-4). Seven different players scored in double-figures, led by Curry with twenty points on 7-of-16 shooting (43.8%) and 2-of-5 from deep (40.0%), along with five rebounds and eight assists. (All-Star sharpshooter) Klay Thompson (20.4 PTS, 42.9% FG, 38.5% 3FG, 90.2% FT, 3.9 REB, 2.8 AST, 0.5 STL, 16.7 PER) added twelve points on 5-of-10 shooting (50.0%) in just under thirty minutes of action, while (versatile Forward) Draymond Green (7.5 PTS, 52.5% FG, 29.6% 3FG, 65.9% FT, 7.3 REB, 7.0 AST, 11.3 STL, 1.1 BLK, 14.3 PER) finished the night with ten points on 4-of-8 shooting (50.0%), six rebounds, six assists, and a pair of blocks. As we stated, the bench showed out in this one, outscoring the Mavericks’ reserves 51-33, led by Kuminga with seventeen points on 5-of-11 shooting (45.5%) and eight rebounds, while Poole chipped in with fourteen points on 5-of-10 shooting (50.0%) and four assists. Oh, and (veteran Swingmen) Andrew Wiggins (17.2 PTS, 46.6% FG, 39.3% 3FG, 63.4% FT, 4.5 REB, 2.2 AST, 1.0 STL, 0.7 BLK, 15.0 PER), who has been ESSENTIAL to their success in this matchup and authored the dunk of the playoffs in Game Three over the aforementioned Doncic, ended the night with thirteen points on 5-of-11 shooting (45.5%), and five rebounds. The loss ended a 10-game winning streak in the Conference Finals, which was the second-longest in NBA history, one game shy of matching the Bulls dynasty of the 90s. And now the scene shifts back to Chase Center, where the Dubs have yet to lose in this postseason, which would be an appropriate place for them formally announce their return to the Finals. Needless to say, it was a rough two years for a club that was ravaged by injuries and defections, though nevertheless managed to rebuild in the absence of both Thompson and Curry, with the emergence of Poole, Wiggins, and many others helping launch what could very well be the second act of their dynasty.