In a game that lacked defence, but more than made up for it offensively, the Golden State Warriors cruised to a huge 147-116 win over the Dallas Mavericks, led by Kelly Oubre Jr.'s career night.
VOTE FOR 2021 NBA ALL-STAR STARTERS HERE!
Oubre Jr. piled up a career-high 40 points and eight rebounds on 14-of-21 from the field and 7-of-10 from the 3-point line, while Steph Curry added 28 points and six assists.
Oubre shows out!
Through 21 games this season, Oubre Jr. had struggled to replicate his play for the Phoenix Suns last season, but against a Mavericks team lacking on the defensive end, the 25-year-old found plenty of confidence on the offensive end.
Coming into tonight's game, he was averaging just 12 points per game on 37.6 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from the 3-point line, but showed patience with his shot selection, knocking down catch-and-shoot jumpers in the flow of the offence.
His infectious energy on the defensive end proved contagious, bringing the hustle wire-to-wire, capping off his game with this rejection on 7'6" big man Boban Marjanovic down the stretch with the game well won.
you know you're having a night when you block the 7'4" guy a possession after grabbing a career-high 40 points 👏 https://t.co/cHDDxXn1yr pic.twitter.com/VUpE9o8Kod
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) February 5, 2021
“Obviously for Kelly it’s been a rough first quarter of the season, and yet within that span he’s had some excellent games,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “Kelly’s getting more comfortable, guys in the locker room love him, and wanna help him continue to get comfortable. This was obviously a great night for him”
On the night the Warriors shot 57.3% from the field and 22-of-43 from the 3-point line, running away with the game in the second half, with their 147 points a season-high.
Dubs return to small ball
With James Wiseman, Kevon Looney and Eric Paschall all sidelined with injuries, the Warriors only had nine players available and none over 6'7", looking more like the former version of themselves, with Draymond Green in the middle, flanked by smaller wing players.
Despite their height disadvantage, the Warriors outscored the Mavs 54-36 in the paint, thanks to some crisp ball movement which generated plenty of open looks.
Draymond 🤝 Andrew
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) February 5, 2021
📺 @NBCSAuthentic pic.twitter.com/xhrD9hDuLi
Green set the tone for the Dubs, finishing with 15 assists, one shy of his career-high, to go with 11 points and six rebounds. The Warriors finished with 37 assists on 51 made field goals in the win.
Mavericks slide continues
Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Mavericks were out of sorts on the defensive end, losing the second half 73-40, dropping their sixth straight game at home.
Over their past eight games, their just 1-7 and now sit at 9-14 on the season, good for 14th in the Western Conference.
Despite 27 points and six assists from Luka Doncic and 25 points from Kristaps Porzingis, the Mavs struggled to conjure much offence, especially in the second half, with their other three starters combining for just 13 points.
"The big problem in this game was our defence, obviously."... "We got seduced into a shootout with these guys."
Both teams combined to shoot 93 three-pointers on the night, as Dallas failed to take advantage of their overwhelming size advantage, playing into the Warriors hands as they ran them off the floor in the final 24 minutes.
Curry and Green didn’t see the floor in the fourth quarter, yet the Warriors still outscored the Mavericks by 17.
What's next?
The Mavericks will get a chance to bounce back on Saturday when they face the Warriors again at home, before hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.
The views on this page do not necessarily represent the views of the NBA or its clubs.
