SAN FRANCISCO — On a night when Chris Paul Paul was honored for reaching the 22-000-point plateau in the NBA, Luka Doncic stole the show.
Doncic toyed with a triple-double and towed the visiting Dallas Mavericks to an impressive 132-122 decision over the previously dynastic Golden State Warriors before a sold-out crowd of 18,064 at the Chase Center.
The 6-foot-7 point guard from Slovenia controlled the pace and had his way almost at will, working the pick-and-roll to perfection while scoring when he needed to
When he was done, Doncic punctured the Warriors for 39 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists. He converted 14 of 29 field goals and netted 5-of-13 from 3.
As spectacular as Doncic was, he wasn’t a one-man show.
Dante Exum sizzled with 19 points and six dimes. Josh Green had 18 points while Tim Hardaway Jr and Grant Williams combined for 26 points and 12 rebounds as Dallas held Golden State to just 45.6 percent from the field (47 of 103).
“It was a great win. It’s hard to win in this building (Chase Center). Great group win, defensively and offensively,” Dallas head coach Jason Kidd said in his post-game press conference.
The victory kept the Mavericks in sixth place in the Western Conference with a 19-14 record. The Warriors, on the other hand, lost three in a row and fell to 15-17 for the season.
Steph Curry kept the Warriors afloat against the hot-shooting Mavericks, swishing six triples for 25 points. Jonathan Kuminga and Trayce Jackson-Davis combined for 33 points but Klay Thompson struggled mightily after hitting only 1-of-11 from the field for just 3 points.
“We’re not there, and it’s a problem,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr of his team’s inability to find their stride.
