After trailing by as many as 19 points, the Golden State Warriors put on a show in the second half to come away with a 126-117 home victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2. The Warriors take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals.
The Mavericks took a 72-58 lead into halftime, led by 24 first-half points from Luka Dončić.
But the Warriors stepped up their defensive intensity in the third quarter and outscored Dallas 25-13 to trim the Mavericks’ lead to two points.
And in the fourth quarter (when Golden State took its first lead of the game), the Warriors’ offense took things to another level, outscoring Dallas 43-32.
Steph Curry led the way with 32 points (11-of-21 from the field, 6-of-10 on threes, 4-of-4 at the line), while Jordan Poole scored 23 points (7-of-10 from the field, 2-of-4 on threes, 7-of-7 at the line) and Kevon Looney scored 21 points (10-of-14 from the field, 12 rebounds).
The Looney production is particularly eye-opening. He’d literally never scored 20-plus points in an organized basketball game since his freshman season at UCLA!
So, the Warriors take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series, which now goes to Dallas for Games 3 and 4. Even if the Mavericks are able to win their home games, can they win a game in San Francisco? Golden State is now 8-0 at home — Chase Center — in these playoffs. The second half of Game 2 was just a massive swing in the series and a huge opportunity blown for the Mavericks.
Here’s a sampling of how the basketball world has reacted to the Warriors beating the Mavericks in Game 2:
https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1527863680234246144