Curry puts the Dallas Big 3 to sleep spoiling Klay’s return

Splash Fro writes a recap of a wild night in Chase Center.

This recap is brought to you by Dub Nation HQ member and interning writer Splash Fro, who is bringing his insights from last night’s contest. This is his first one, so show him some love!

The Golden State Warriors overcame an emotional night, flexing their retooled defense to defeat the Dallas Mavericks 120-117.

It was the perfect storm of events. The Warriors returned home to host their first game of the In-Season Tournament, still buzzing after a successful 4-1 road trip. But the night’s focus was on the return of Klay Thompson, now sporting a Mavs jersey, to the Bay Area to face-off against his old team.

With Chase Center dressed in its IST court colorway, Dub Nation arrived early to participate in the Klay tribute activities outside, but everyone really wanted a Captain Klay hat. We all knew the video was coming, but Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr noted that Stephen Curry and Klay had met the night before and decided to cancel Steph’s pre-game address, opting to get to the game as soon as possible.

As the players took the court, all eyes were on the Splash Brothers. As they completed their pre-tip off routines, a collective “Awww” blanketed the arena as Steph and Klay shared a hug before the opening jump ball.

The duo forever known as the Splash Brothers didn’t waste any time going at each other as opponents for the first time. Dallas opened up with Klay in the mid-post guarded by Steph, with Klay going to the line after a Curry foul. Meanwhile on Golden State’s first possession, a Trayce Jackson-Davis screen got Curry open just enough such that a help attempt from Thompson couldn’t prevent a Curry three.

The Warriors starters pushed the pace the entire game. Coach Kerr went small ball early subbing in Gary Payton II for TJD mid-way through the first. The Warriors would enjoy a nine point lead, but the second unit struggled to score and Dallas pulled to within six points to end the quarter.

Dallas took advantage of the Golden State offensive woes to wrestle back the lead in the 2nd quarter. After a pair of Thompson three pointers caused Kerr to call a timeout, the offense got going again but Dallas would respond pushing their lead to 11.

The defense remained steady against the surging Mavs as Dallas took a 63-59 advantage into halftime. Coming out of halftime aggressive on both sides, the Warriors leveraged their stingy defense to create fast break opportunities and pushed to their largest lead of 13.

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving weren’t going down without a fight and brought Dallas to within three points, but a late Golden State surge would give them a 7 point lead going into the 4th. Steph seemed to take advantage of Derek Lively II’s gap defense and ducking under screens, giving Curry all the space he needed to bomb away.

With neither team able to hold a lead and separate themselves, it still felt like the game was up for grabs in the 4th. What’s a 7 point lead when you have Luka, Kyrie and Klay? Dallas would outscore Golden State 23-9 to take a 112-105 lead with 4:33 left to play. A DeAnthony Melton three would pull the Warriors to within 4 and then Draymond and Steph simply decided we’re not losing tonight.

In a key defensive sequence late in the 4th, Green would draw a charge from Daniel Gafford, block his shot on the next trip then force an errant pass for the turnover on the third consecutive trip on the defensive end. Meanwhile, the Clutch Player of the Year would score the Warriors final 12 points of the game, none bigger than this final 3 over Lively.

Night Night.

The Dallas Big 3 would combine for 74 points plus a combined 27 from their center tandem. Klay would finish with 22 on 6-of-12 from three-point range. Golden State, led by Curry’s season-high 37 points (plus game highs in assists and blocks), got double figure scoring contributions from Green, Melton, Buddy Hield and Jonathan Kuminga. Game ball goes to the defense - holding the Dallas starters to a -22 +/- rating.