DALLAS: Luka Doncic scored 30 points as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Golden State Warriors 119-109 to keep their NBA Western Conference finals series alive on Tuesday.
The Mavericks, needing a victory to avoid a clean sweep, delivered a revived offensive performance to ensure a Game 5 in San Francisco on Thursday.
No team in the 75-year history of the NBA has ever come back from 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven playoff series.
But after Tuesday’s performance, the Mavericks have at least a lifeline to cling to as the series heads back to California with the Warriors needing just one win from three remaining games to advance to the NBA Finals.
Doncic, who has carried the scoring burden for Dallas in the three previous games, finally received scoring support from his teammates on Tuesday.
Six Dallas players finished in double figures, with Dorian Finney-Smith adding 23 points and Reggie Bullock 18.
Jalen Brunson added 15 while Maxi Kleber contributing 13 and Spencer Dinwiddie 10.
Doncic however praised the defensive performance of his teammates after a display which restricted Golden State’s leading scorer — Stephen Curry — to just 20 points.
“Our defense was amazing today,” said Doncic, who finished with 14 rebounds and nine assists.”That’s how we’ve got to play, when we play like this we’re a dangerous team.”
Asked if he felt the Mavs could still salvage a series victory, Doncic replied: “You never know. We’re going to stick together. It’s going to be tough, we know that but we have to stay together.”
After being outplayed in the first three games by the six-time NBA champions, Dallas came out with a renewed sense of purpose at the American Airlines Center.
The Mavs led by 15 points at halftime after cutting loose midway through the second quarter with a 19-2 run that propelled them into a double-digit lead.
Golden State struggled to make inroads into that deficit and were successful on only three of 16 attempts from three-point range.
The Mavs by contrast drained 11-of-23 from beyond the arc in the first half, a statistic that helped them into a 62-47 halftime lead.
The start of the second half was delayed by around 20 minutes after what appeared to be a leak from the arena roof allowed puddles of water to gather at one end of the court.
But any idea that the delay would allow the Warriors to regroup quickly evaporated as the Mavericks continued to rain in buckets, outscoring Golden State 37-23.
That left Dallas 99-70 in front heading into the fourth quarter, with Dallas seemingly cruising to victory.
The Mavs were given a scare in the final minutes of the game as the Warriors bench players suddenly trimmed the lead to just eight points.
But Doncic reasserted control and a Bullock three-pointer put Dallas 13 points clear again to secure the win.
Antetokounmpo, Doncic head All-NBA First Team
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic headed the voting for the 2021-2022 All-NBA First Team, the league said Tuesday.
Antetokounmpo, Doncic and Jokic were joined in the starting lineup by Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum.
Antetokounmpo topped the voting, receiving first team votes on all 100 ballots. It was the Greek star’s fourth consecutive selection to the first team.
Doncic and Jokic, meanwhile, each received 88 of the 100 votes.
Booker garnered 82 first team selections while Tatum completed the lineup with 49 votes.
There was no place for Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid, who instead found himself heading the second team lineup.
Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant, Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant, Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan completed the second team lineup.
