Mavericks Rest Six Guys, Fall to Warriors

The Dallas Mavericks fell to the Golden State Warriors big, thanks in large part to a horrible first half and a lack of firepower. Here is a brief recap of the game.

After a great win in which the Dallas Mavericks put together one of the most complete games in a long time, the Mavs fell big to the defending Western Conference Champions, the Golden State Warriors. The score shows a blowout, but it was not that the whole game.

The Mavs finally fell to the Warriors as they pulled away to an insurmountable level near the middle of the 4th quarter. Dallas was without Dirk Nowitzki (achilles), Devin Harris (toe), Deron Williams (calf), Wesley Matthews (rest), and Andrew Bogut (rest).

This left the Mavericks to contend with the likes of Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Dryamond Green with only 9 active players. That is a tough formula to fight against, which was painfully clear in the first half.

At the end of the first 24 minutes, Dallas trailed 67-36. The game was all but over but Dallas didn’t like that plan. The third quarter was all Dallas as the Mavs outscored Golden State 32-17 and got within 13 points at one point.

The Warriors eventually pulled away in the fourth, but not without a scare. Dallas was led in scoring by Harrison Barnes with 25 and Justin Anderson with 16. Kevin Durant led all scorers with 28. Here are three points to keep in mind from the game.

Harrison Barnes Needs to Avoid Bad Habits

Barnes looked very good again tonight, scoring 25 points on 8-20 shooting plus 8-8 from the free throw line. Although 40% shooting is not bad at all, Barnes needs to focus on finding the right shot.

Many of those tough shots were forced over the defender or fading away from the basket. Now, in the first half, this made a lot of sense because no one could get a shot to drop. This game does not need to scare anyone with Barnes’ shot choices, but let’s just hope it doesn’t become a habit.

Seth Curry Can Do This Every Night

Seth Curry had his hands full tonight with a matchup against his two-time MVP winning brother, Steph. However, if you watched the game, it is clear that he is a very capable NBA player and is continually getting better.

Seth may have only had 10 points on 4-17 shooting, which is bad, but the rest of his stats are really impressive, especially considering the night Dallas had. Curry ended the night with 9 assists, 5 steals, and 2 blocks. Steph had 5 turnovers for Golden State and a few of them were steals where Seth essentially telegraphed what his brother was going to do.

His shooting will get better, but the rest of his game is rounding out and could be excellent very soon.

Justin Anderson is Looking Better

Simba had a good night for Dallas as he is finally getting some minutes back after the shortage that Carlisle put him on the last few games. Tonight he scored 16 points and showed his aggression and tenacity on the court.

Anderson also snagged 8 boards and dished out 7 assists for Dallas tonight. This shows that he can have a very rounded game as he gets better.

Next: Emotional Night Ahead as Andrew Bogut, Barnes Return to Golden State

The Mavs also got some bench production as Nicolas Brussino, Salah Mejri, Quincy Acy, and A.J. Hammons combined for 23 points on the night. The Dallas Mavericks look to rebound from this loss on Monday, November 14th against the New York Knicks.