San Francisco, CA– Stephen Curry led the Golden State Warriors to a thrilling 120-117 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night, scoring 37 points, including the team’s final 12 points in an NBA Cup matchup.
Klay Thompson made an emotional return to Chase Center, finishing with 22 points after joining Dallas in July. Luka Doncic also had a strong performance, contributing 31 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. The Mavericks deemed Doncic fit to play despite a recent left groin strain after he completed his warmup routine.
In a tribute to Thompson’s tradition of taking his boat across the bay to games, the Warriors gifted captain hats to fans. Thompson shared an embrace with Curry just before tipoff, and his 3-pointer briefly gave the Mavericks a 110-105 lead before Curry took over the game.
Curry shot 14 of 27 from the field, hitting five three-pointers while also adding nine assists and six rebounds. He sparked a significant 20-3 run to start the third quarter.
Takeaways:
Mavericks: Dereck Lively II, who was questionable due to a sprained right shoulder, contributed 12 points and eight rebounds. However, Dallas struggled with 18 turnovers, which led to 21 points for the Warriors.
Warriors: Jonathan Kuminga scored 16 points off the bench, and Buddy Hield added 14. De’Anthony Melton also contributed 14 points, marking his third consecutive game in double figures.
Key Moment:
A pivotal moment occurred in the second quarter when Warriors guard Moses Moody, after blocking Thompson’s three-pointer, attempted to dunk on Thompson but was fouled hard, settling for two free throws instead. Thompson later defended Hield during the fourth quarter.
Key Stat:
Curry committed a foul on Thompson just 15 seconds into the game, allowing Thompson to score the first two points at the free-throw line. Although he missed his first two field-goal attempts, Thompson finally connected on a three-pointer with 1:26 left in the opening quarter.
Up Next:
The Mavericks will head to Utah to face the Jazz on Thursday night, while the Warriors will host the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
