DALLAS, TEXAS — The Golden State Warriors (27-27) lose to the Dallas Mavericks (29-26) for the first time since the Jimmy Butler III era began.
The 111-107 loss is one amassed because of mental mistakes throughout the game, according to Golden State.
Warriors’ Gary Payton II said, “one little thing, a mental mistake, can lead to a flurry of shots and makes.” Moses Moody saying Dallas’ Klay Thompson getting hot early, ending with 17 points, and Kyrie Irving getting hot late, made the difference.
Irving led all scorers by dropping 42 points, while Stephen Curry (25) and Jimmy Butler (21) combined for 46.
“Kyrie forces your hand,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “He controlled the game with the shot making and the way he manipulated our defense. He was fantastic.”
Irving went 7-10 from 3-point land.
Payton II and Moody had 14 each and Draymond Green, 13; despite their efforts, “we left ourselves vulnerable,” Kerr said.
Curry, for the first time this year, missed a free-throw in the fourth quarter.
“It hurts,” he said. “[They] played hard with nothing to lose,” what he says is the hardest kind of team to play.
Their game back in December combined for an NBA record 48 3-pointers, and the one earlier in the season welcomed Klay Thompson back to the Bay, but wearing a different jersey.
Even in this game, seeing Thompson wearing different colors is still a shock Curry says he needs to get over. He said “with every rep, it does help.”
Golden State, now in the middle of a seven-game road trip, are now 13-13 on the road. Dallas now has a 6-5 record in their last eleven games at home.
Both teams play on Thursday: the Mavericks host the Miami Heat, while the Warriors travel to Houston to play the Rockets.
