Luka Doncic pours in 39 to carry Mavericks past Warriors

Field Level Media|published: Sat 30th December, 23:31 2023

Dec 30, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts after missing a 3-point basket attempt against the Dallas Mavericks during the first quarter at Chase Center. credits: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

Luka Doncic won a scoring duel over Stephen Curry, Dante Exum and Josh Green combined for 37 points and the Dallas Mavericks held off the Golden State Warriors 132-122 on Saturday night in San Francisco.

Doncic went for a game-high 39 points, 14 more than Curry in their first head-to-head of the season, helping the Mavericks end a two-game losing streak while extending the Golden State skid to three.

Dallas led most of the way, including by as many as 16 points, before Jonathan Kuminga's 3-pointer got the Warriors within 112-106 with still 6:01 to play.

But Doncic countered with a jumper and Jalen Hardy buried a 3-pointer, creating a double-digit advantage from which the hosts could never fully recover.

Golden State did manage to creep within 119-114 after consecutive 3-pointers by Curry and Chris Paul, before Doncic dropped in a pair of free throws with 2:31 to go and Tim Hardaway Jr. hit a short jumper 34 seconds later, icing the win.

Doncic hit 14 of his 29 shots and five 3-pointers to go with eight rebounds and a game-high 10 assists for Dallas, which outshot Golden State 55.7 percent to 45.6.

The 132 points were the most given up by the Warriors in a home game this season.

Green used three 3-pointers to account for half his 18 points off the bench, while Exum also bombed in three from deep on a 19-point night. All told, the Mavericks shot 16-for-40 on 3-pointers.

Dereck Lively II had another Mavericks double-double with 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, while Hardaway added 16 points and Grant Williams 10.

Curry shot 6-for-15 on 3-pointers on his 25-point night and got plenty of support from Paul, who responded to a rare start with six 3-pointers and 24 points. The guards also combined for 13 assists, with Curry producing a team-high seven.

Trayce Jackson-Davis had 17 points, Kuminga 16 to complement nine rebounds, Andrew Wiggins 14 and Brandin Podziemski 13 for the Warriors, who got just three points on 1-for-11 shooting from Klay Thompson.

—Field Level Media