Luka Doncic outduels Steph Curry as Mavericks edge Warriors in national TV thriller
DALLAS — Luka Doncic couldn't top Stephen Curry's shoulder shimmy, or the second-best scoring night of the Golden State star's career.
The Dallas sensation led his Mavericks to victory, though, and helped them stop a six-game home losing streak.
Doncic tied his career high with 42 points in a scoring duel with Curry, leading the Mavericks to an entertaining 134-132 win over the Warriors on Saturday.
The prime-time matchup on national TV lived up to the billing, with Curry hitting a season-high 11 3-pointers on the way to 57 points. The only time the two-time MVP scored more in a game was when he had 62 points about a month ago in a win over Portland.
Doncic was 12-of-23 from field, 7-of-12 from 3-point range and 11-of-14 on free throws with 11 assists and seven rebounds as the Mavericks ended a six-game home losing streak, the second-longest in Rick Carlisle's 13 seasons as coach.
"What a display of basketball out there," Carlisle said. "Just amazing playmaking and shot-making the entire night. Curry and Doncic were spectacular. Both teams played with a lot of heart and a lot of joy. Great thing to see."
The Mavericks took an 18-2 lead two nights after a 31-point loss to the Warriors on the same court, but the 16-point cushion was gone by the third quarter — not long after Curry's shoulder shimmy when he drained a 36-footer from the Mavericks midcourt logo.
"That always is a good feeling when you feel like you’re in a rhythm, you just need a clean look and things are going to fall," Curry said. "It was that type of night. Obviously wanted to get the win. Kind of mixed feelings right now."
Curry was 11-of-19 from 3 — finishing two made 3s shy of his career high — and made all eight of his free throws. He was 19-of-31 overall with five assists.
"He’s never played better," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "I've never seen him like this. He’s always obviously been an incredible shooter. He looks stronger. It’s almost unfathomable, what he’s doing out there."
Draymond Green matched his season high of 15 assists from the first of the two straight games two nights earlier with the Warriors again missing all their traditional centers because of injuries.
Curry got the Warriors within a point with a three-point play with 28 seconds remaining, but Doncic assisted on a 3-pointer by Maxi Kleber for a 134-130 lead with 5.6 seconds left.
With Curry sitting early in the fourth quarter, the Mavericks got their lead back to double digits. The Warriors were within four when Curry missed a 3 with a little more than a minute remaining, then Doncic connected from long range to tie his previous career high of 42 points and put Dallas up 131-124.
"Going against Steph, it's fun," said Doncic, who slammed the scorer's table in frustration after a crushing last-second loss to Phoenix during the home skid. "I've got to have more fun playing the game, to be who I was before. I've just got to get back to enjoying the game."
Kristaps Porzingis had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Josh Richardson scored 17 for Dallas.
Andrew Wiggins scored 22 points and Kent Bazemore had 20 for the Warriors.
The duel between Curry and Doncic got going when they traded 3-pointers late in the first half. They did it again early in the second half, when Doncic hit another one after a Golden State turnover.
It wasn't all 3s for Curry. He pump-faked behind the arc in the third quarter, sending Kleber and Dorian Finney-Smith flying by before dribbling past them and hitting a 17-footer.
Curry hit another 3 the next time down, and one from long range by Wiggins gave the Warriors their first lead at 96-95 with four minutes left in the third.
TIP-INS: Warriors — Kerr said rookie center James Wiseman won't play in the next two games at San Antonio because of his sprained left wrist. ... It was Curry's eighth 50-point game, and second against Dallas. ... After scoring a career-high 40 during Golden State’s 147-116 win in the first meeting two nights earlier, Kelly Oubre Jr. had 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting.
Mavericks — James Johnson wasn't listed on the injury report, but didn't play and had left knee soreness listed on the box score. ... Kleber scored 16 points and was 4-of-9 from long range.
VISIT FROM THE OWNER: Carlisle said he invited Mark Cuban to talk to the team before the game after the owner reached out to his coach with a show of support. Before the blowout defeat against the Warriors, the Mavericks had a crushing last-second loss to Phoenix.
"He just wanted everybody to know that he was fully supportive of everything and everybody," Carlisle said. "It was heartwarming. I think it got our guys a little more juiced up to play."
UP NEXT: Warriors — A four-game Texas trip concludes with a back-to-back against the Spurs starting Monday. The Warriors have lost four straight games in San Antonio. They aren't too far removed from a 33-game losing streak there spanning 19 years.
Mavericks — Minnesota visits Monday with the Mavericks set to allow fans for the first time this season. The club said it will invite up to 1,500 essential workers to attend for free.
