Dallas Mavericks down the fatigued Golden State Warriors, 116-91

The Dallas Mavericks jumped out on the Warriors in the first quarter, outscoring them 30-16 and they ended up winning 116-91. “It’s been rough,” said Nowitzki. “There’s been some itching going on. Since we’re still down seven games under .500, it’s a long way to go,”Nowtizki said back when the Mavs were at 21-28.

No worries, we’ve got this.

James Harden is known as the beard, but the Mavericks as a team have something going on, which would justify them being the undisputed beard kings of the NBA. They have made a pledge amongst themselves, not to shave their beards until they climb above .500.

“Kaman looks like a freakin’ grizzly,” Vince Carter said. “We were just like, ‘Let’s do it,’ and guys were all in.” Only last week the Warriors sans Steph Curry handed a defeat to the Mavericks, 100-97. Curry is integral, as the previous game they played the Mavs, he had 31 points, 9 assists and 6 steals in a 105-101 overtime win. But in spite of his presence today, or perhaps because of it, the Warriors ended up dropping this one all the same.

At one point, the Dallas Mavericks led by as much as 27 points in the first half. They built up a sizable lead in the early going and were able to keep it up. Here are the first half highlights of this contest:

“We’re fine. There’s no panic. We lost another game. We didn’t play well, we made mistakes, we did not put together 48 minutes of basketball, but there’s going to be no panic. We’re going to regroup and be preparing for the next one,” Warriors coach Marc Jackson said.

Fatigue may have had something to do with the Warriors dropping this one. This was their fourth road game in five nights. Both teams were without their big men. Dallas were without Chris Kaman who missed his sixth game with a concussion. The Warriors missed Andrew Bogut and Jarret Jack. Steph Curry was out of his element as he shot 8 for 23 for 18 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Four other Warriors finished in double figures as Harrison Barnes added 12 points on 4 for 10 shooting, David Lee had 10 to go with 4 rebounds, Klay Thompson had 11 on a dismal 4 for 14 shooting and Carl Landry gave them 13 off the bench on 4 for 6 shooting.

“It’ll take care of itself. Right now, I’m a Dallas Maverick and that’s what it’s about,” said Shawn Marion on the uncertainty of being traded. Marion led the way for the Mavericks with a season high 11 rebounds to go with 26 points.

For the Mavericks, five of them finished in double figures. Led By Marion’s 26 on 11 for 16, OJ Mayo added 19 on 6 for 13 shooting with an impressive 9 assists, Darren Collison had 18 with 8 assists, Dirk Nowitzki added 15 on 3 for 12 shooting with 6 rebounds. Elton Brand stepped it up off the bench with a double double of 11 points on 5-9 shooting with 11 rebounds.

The Mavericks are on a roll and have won two in a row against very difficult opponents, the Thunder and the Warriors. They improved to 22-28 and are 5-5 in their last five games. The Warriors dropped to 30-21 and are now 6th in the Western Conference as the Mavericks are 11th, right behind the Lakers.

Here’s the recap of this game: