SAN FRANCISCO — Now that’s the Warriors that we’ve been waiting to see.
From the opening tip, Golden State played a complete game Tuesday night at Chase Center. The final result was a dominant 130-92 win against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavericks came into Tuesday night allowing only 102.5 points per game, which ranked third in the NBA behind only the Warriors (No. 1) and the Cleveland Cavaliers (No. 2). The Warriors’ 130 points are the most that Dallas has allowed this season.
In the first half, Steve Kerr played 11 Warriors and nine scored. Really, that’s the kind of night it was for the Warriors.
Steph Curry continued to search for his shot from long distance, however, he found a new remedy with his mid-range game. Klay Thompson looked in rhythm and didn’t miss a beat after sitting out Sunday night’s win with left knee soreness. Jordan Poole and Damion Lee provided a spark off the bench and Otto Porter Jr. continued to show why Steve Kerr calls him the “perfect Warrior” with 12 points in his third straight start.
Jonathan Kuminga also had a great night with a team-high 22 points in 18 minutes off the bench, including this frame-worthy poster dunk.
Kuminga also was a perfect 4-for-4 on 3-pointers.
This was the Warriors’ best win since crushing the Chicago Bulls on Jan. 14, and there’s a real argument this is the best they have looked in 2022.
The Warriors outshot the Mavs from deep and overall from the field, they outrebounded Dallas and had more assists. If it weren’t for Luka Doncic’s 25 points, this would have been even more of a blowout.
Here are three takeaways as the Warriors improved to 35-13.
Mid-Range Steph
As he said Sunday night, Curry doesn’t give a damn about excuses. The Splash Brother went 1-for-13 two nights ago from beyond the arc. On Tuesday, he found a solution in the mid-range game.
Curry was just 2-for-10 on 3-pointers. He went 5-for-6 on all other shots. Maybe this was by coincidence, maybe he was just taking what the defense gave him. It also isn’t a secret that players struggling for deep find their shot closer to the basket, and this might have been exactly what Curry needed.
He also was just shy of a triple-double with nine rebounds and seven assists, and was a plus-23 in 29 minutes.
With Draymond Green out, Curry also continued to play the role of facilitator and dropped some dimes.
Klay In Control
There had to be some real concern when Thompson missed Sunday’s game to left knee soreness. Take a deep breath, Klay hasn’t played better this season than he did against Dallas.
He was attacking, he was ready to fire from deep and even handed out some filthy assists for his teammates.
On the night, Thompson scored 15 points and had a season-high six assists. His plus-26 was second to only Lee’s plus-28.
Poole Finds His Place
Poole played by far his best game off the bench since Klay has returned and been inserted into the starting lineup.
At first, this looked like it could be another game where Poole was trying to find his footing. He didn’t even attempt a shot until there was 5:29 left in the second quarter. Once he made his first shot with 4:39 left in the frame, it was on for the Warriors’ newest Sixth Man.
The third-year pro scored 17 points and was a plus-9. His quickness — as always — shined and he showed zero hesitation after seeing his first bucket go in. If this is the Poole that the Warriors will get on a nightly basis, watch out.
