Luka Doncic pours in 39 to carry Mavericks past Warriors

Luka Doncic won a scoring duel over Stephen Curry as 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 matchup of the season, helping the Mavericks end a two-game losing streak while extending the Golden State skid to three.

Dallas’ Dante Exum and Josh Green combined for 37 points.

The Mavericks 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 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.

Luka Doncic is the second player in NBA history to average 35+ PPG, 8+ RPG, and 10+ APG in a month (min. 10 games).

He joins Oscar Robertson, who did so in Dec. 1960. pic.twitter.com/mFEjJ7vY1o

— NBA History (@NBAHistory) December 31, 2023

Golden State did manage to creep within 119-114 after consecutive 3-pointers by Curry and Chris Paul. Doncic then 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-point attempts 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.

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