A short-handed Golden State Warriors have suffered their third loss in four games, falling to the Dallas Mavericks in a 109-99 defeat at American Airlines Center.
Playing without their two most important players in Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, the Warriors were always going to find it difficult against Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and company. Any chance Golden State did have relied on significant production from remaining veteran duo Klay Thompson and Chris Paul, but the future hall-of-famers struggled throughout much of Wednesday night's game.
Jonathan Kuminga had 27 points but the Golden State Warriors didn't get enough from their veterans in a double-digit loss to the Dallas Mavericks
The Warriors would overcome a slow start to tie the game at the end of the opening period, yet their offense would struggle to start the second as the Mavericks began on a 13-2 run. Jonathan Kuminga's 16 points would wrestle the deficit back to six by half-time, with both teams struggling to find their offense in a low-scoring contest.
Golden State pulled within one on multiple occasions in the third-quarter, but the Dallas lead remained six heading to the fourth period. That's where the Mavericks would make their move, pulling away to essentially put the result beyond doubt with six or seven minutes still remaining.
You couldn't fault the Warriors' effort necessarily, they simply weren't good enough and couldn't find enough avenues offensively. Kuminga continued to battle his way to the rim to finish with 27 points, though his increased responsibility also led to six turnovers from the talented forward.
JK went turbo mode 🏎💨 pic.twitter.com/1AaWakZQet
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 14, 2024
Golden State didn't get enough from Thompson and Paul, both of whom started alongside Andrew Wiggins, Kuminga and Trayce Jackson-Davis. Thompson had only eight points in nearly 27 minutes, five of which came in the opening two minutes of the second-half.
The 34-year-old finished shooting 3-of-13 from the floor and 2-of-7 from three-point range, while Paul had nine points, four rebounds, four assists and shot 4-of-12 (1-of-4 from three) on the night. Thompson was a -13 and Paul a game-low -14 in just over 31 minutes, with the plus-minuses signifying a pair of disappointing performances when the team could least afford it.
Andrew Wiggins had 17 points and five rebounds, while the rookie duo of Brandin Podziemski (11) and Trayce Jackson-Davis (10) were the only other players to finish with double-figure scoring. Podziemski also had five rebounds, six assists and four steals in just under 28 minutes.
The Warriors will hope to regain both Curry and Green when they travel to Los Angeles to face the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday.