Warriors on brink as Curry, Wiggins sink Mavs
DALLAS, United States (AFP) — Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins starred as the Golden State Warriors moved to the brink of the NBA Finals on Sunday with a 109-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
The clinical Warriors’ performance on the road in Dallas gives Steve Kerr’s team a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals series.
Game four in the series takes place in Dallas on Tuesday.
No team in the 75-year history of the NBA has ever successfully overturned a 3-0 series deficit in the play-offs.
Curry led the scoring for the Warriors with 31 points, 11 assists and five rebounds while Wiggins was exceptional with 27 points and 11 rebounds.
Klay Thompson also came up big with 19 points while Draymond Green and Jordan Poole added 10 points apiece.
Luka Doncic once again delivered a monumental display for Dallas with 40 points but the Slovenian star will need to conjure something even more miraculous to prevent the Warriors from advancing to an NBA finals showdown against either Boston or Miami.
“We obviously know that the job’s not done but it’s a good feeling to know that we can play with house money on Tuesday [in game four] and try and get the job done,” Curry said afterwards.
Doncic refused to concede that a Warriors series victory will now be a formality.
“It’s not over yet, but it’s not going to be easy,” Doncic said. “The Warriors are not going to give you anything easy.
After taking a 48-47 half-time lead, the Warriors took a decisive grip on the game in the third quarter.
Curry drained 11 points as the Warriors outscored Dallas 30-21 in the third to lead by 10, heading into the fourth at 78-68.
That margin proved to be enough as the Warriors maintained their composure during the fourth quarter to keep the Mavs at arm’s length.
Wiggins produced a highlight-reel worthy moment midway through the final quarter with a monstrous, one-handed dunk over Doncic.
The bucket was initially ruled out for an offensive foul but Warriors Coach Kerr successfully challenged the call to leave the Warriors 10 points clear at 93-83.
