Talk about the one that got away. When the Warriors are looking
back over their most painful losses, the ones where they snatched
defeat from the jaws of victory, Wednesday night’s 112-106 defeat
to the visiting Dallas Mavericks will be high on the list.
OAKLAND
Talk about the one that got away.
When the Warriors are looking back over their most painful losses, the ones where they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, Wednesday night’s 112-106 defeat to the visiting Dallas Mavericks will be high on the list.
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Golden State (30-38) gradually, excruciatingly, gave away an 18-point first-half lead, bungling away a winnable game against one of the best teams in the Western Conference. One game after being routed by lowly Sacramento, the Warriors have now lost two straight and are seven games back of the eighth and final playoff spot in the West with 14 games left to play.
“We look at the standings every day,” Warriors coach Keith Smart said before the game. “All the time. We pay attention to where we are, what’s happening, and what we’re trying to get done.”
The Warriors will need all but a miracle to get it done now. It was a long shot weeks ago. But after losing five of their past eight, the Warriors all but officially stuck a fork in their postseason hopes. And maybe their bid to finish at .500.
Wednesday, it was a 15-0 fourth-quarter run that did them in. Dallas All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki_who finished with 34 points and 13 rebounds _ scored eight points during the game-changing run, which turned a 96-89 Warriors lead into a 104-96 Warriors deficit.
During the four-minute, 16-second stretch, the Warriors went 0 for 5 with two turnovers, lowlighting a brutal second half. The Warriors totaled 47 points after halftime on 41.4 percent shooting.
Warriors guard Monta Ellis finished with 26 points, 11 assists and six rebounds. Forward David Lee had 22 points and nine rebounds. Guard Acie Law had 15 points and six assists in 23 minutes off the bench.
It all started so well for Golden State. The Warriors had a first quarter to die for Wednesday. They made 15 of 19 from the field, getting 10 each from Ellis and Lee. What’s more, they held Dallas to 10-for-24 shooting in the opening period, with Nowitzki going 1 for 6.
That resulted in an 18-point first-quarter advantage for the Warriors. But by the end of the first quarter, that lead was down to 34-25.
Golden State got the lead back up to 18. A 14-5 Warriors run to open the second quarter, capped with a free throw by Law at the 8:16 mark, gave the Warriors a 48-30 advantage.
By the end of the second quarter, the Warriors’ lead was just six. With Shawn Marion providing a spark off the bench, and Nowitzki getting himself to the line, the Mavericks offense made some headway. The two combined for 16 points as Dallas shot 50 percent in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, the Warriors cooled off significantly. Ellis, who made his first five shots, was 1 for 5 in the second quarter. All four misses came in the final 4:48 of the first half, when the Warriors went without a field goal and managed just a pair of free throws.
The Warriors cooled off even more in the third quarter, making just a third of their shots. Despite getting a fair dose of attempts thanks to the six Dallas turnovers they forced, the Warriors were held to one shot per possession. The Mavericks doubled up the Warriors on the boards 14-7.
A fade-away jumper by Nowitzki tied the game at 69. After a 3-pointer by Warriors forward Dorell Wright put the Warriors back up, the Mavericks took the lead for the first time on four straight free throws, the last two by Nowitzki, giving Dallas a 73-72 lead.
Ellis sent the Warriors into the fourth quarter tied at 81 by nailing a fade-away bank shot just before the buzzer.
_Warriors center Andris Biedrins sprained his left ankle in the third quarter and did not return. Biedrins finished with seven points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes.
— Story by Marcus Thompson II, Contra Costa Times
