#Warriors #find #Finals #firing #Mavs
For the sixth time in eight seasons, the Warriors will go to the NBA Finals. That night they outclassed the Mavs with a hard-hitting Luka Doncic, thanks to his collective strength. Draymond Green and Klay Thompson led the charge. Lacking in skill, Stephen Curry won the first Magic Johnson trophy for Most Valuable Player of the Western Conference Finals. After two seasons in purgatory, marked by injuries, the Warriors are back!
Thus they begin the match with seriousness, intensity and constant defensive activity to set the tone (14-5)! The Chase Center, however, holds its breath as Stephen Curry sprains his right ankle. The double MVP finally stays on the field but this scare cuts the momentum of his team. Despite Luka Doncic shooting 2/10, the Mavs limited the break thanks to their defense and two winning shots by Spencer Dinwiddie at the end of the quarter (28-23).
Jordan Poole then passes second. He scores seven points in two minutes, but Jalen Brunson, Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans continue to keep the Mavs on the prowl. The Warriors insist, however, and this time there are eight points from Klay Thompson, boiling in this first half, which thrashed Dallas (45-32)!
The Mavs then stubbornly attack Nemanja Bjelica, in the rotation in place of the still-absent Otto Porter Jr, but the Serb accepts the challenge. The Texans struggle to score, and Golden State’s defense allows their offense to move forward. After Poole and Thompson, it was Moses Moody’s turn to score seven straight points to finish a 9-0 run that put Dallas in a bind. At halftime, the Warriors lead by 17 points and the Mavs can thank Spencer Dinwiddie (17 points) who tries to save the furniture alone (69-52).
One of the first possessions of the second half sums up this game perfectly. On the one hand, Luka Doncic, who sees his layup roll gently around the circle, lowers his shoulders and head while Draymond Green runs in transition to offer a plateau triple to Klay Thompson with a back pass (85-62). As the Chase Center already looks at the NBA Finals, Luka Doncic wakes up and the tension mounts. The Slovenian scores 10 points to launch a 15-0 that puts Dallas under ten points, before a Jordan Poole layup stops the bleeding (95-85).
The Poole – Green duo allows the Warriors to get some air but the latter receives his fifth foul on a mobile screen. Golden State held on but two fouls on Spencer Dinwiddie in the triple and a winning shot from Luka Doncic allowed the Mavs to hold on (110-100). With four minutes remaining, it was Kevon Looney and Andrew Wiggins who crucified Jason Kidd’s men by collecting several offensive rebounds that led to two award-winning shots by the “Splash Brothers” to take the lead to +16 (118- 102). Jason Kidd then waves the white flag and clears his bench.
Nobody expected the Mavs to be at this level this season, but their great season ended at the hands of Golden State. The Warriors win the series and the Western conference for the first time since 2019, and will have home court advantage to start the NBA Finals next Thursday!
WHAT TO REMEMBER
– Golden State’s defense sets the tone. Just like in Game 6 against Memphis, the Warriors are relying on their defense to take control of the game. Behind an omnipresent Draymond Green, they limit the Mavs to 8 of 24 shots, multiplying efforts and closing access to the circle. Luka Doncic misses easy baskets, but Golden State’s defensive activity keeps him at 2/12 shooting and forces three turnovers on shots. The Warriors are also rigorous in their assists, leaving Frank Ntilikina alone on several occasions. And if the Frenchman scores 2 of his 4 attempts from distance, that’s exactly what Steve Kerr’s players are looking for. With the exception of the former Knick and a right-handed, aggressive Spencer Dinwiddie, the Mavs finished the half 11-of-33 shooting.
– The Klay Thompson – Jordan Poole – Moses Moody trio makes Dallas pay. The Warriors produced their effort in the second quarter to take off, led by a three-headed monster. Jordan Poole opened the fight, before Klay Thompson took over, and it was rookie Moses Moody who finished the job. All three running backs scored 29 of Golden State’s 41 points in the period, using all the attention Stephen Curry created to attack the weak side of the Mavs’ defense relentlessly. If we could wait for the awakening of Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole, Moses Moody continues to prove that he is capable of carrying his stone into the building. A blessing for the Warriors weighed down by injuries to several players in their rotation.
– The thunderous awakening of Luka Doncic. In the hard one for almost 27 minutes, Luka Doncic only needed a 2+1 to regain confidence. The Slovenian scored 15 of his team’s 32 points in the third quarter on 5/8 shooting to restart the game. The Mavs point guard scored 10 of his 15 points in the final four minutes of the period to make it 15-0 on the Warriors and reinvigorate his teammates. However, he will not have the same success in the fourth quarter.
– The decisive offensive rebounds of Kevon Looney and Andrew Wiggins. Since the start of the playoffs, Kevon Looney and Andrew Wiggins have impressed with their commitment. His impact on the offensive rebound is symbolic of this activity. The two players are also first and second in the playoff standings in this sector. With four minutes left, it was a Looney offensive rebound that brought in a Klay Thompson 3-pointer to hurt the Mavs. A minute later, it was an offensive rebound by Andrew Wiggins that led to an award-winning shot in the corner by Stephen Curry to put Dallas KO on their feet. The Warriors dominated Denver and Memphis in offensive rebounds, and validated their qualification for the finals in the same way.
TOPS/FLOPS
Klay Thompson. Game 6 Klay was ahead! The “Splash Brother” set his sights from the first quarter. He scored 19 of his 32 points in the first half. He finished 8-for-16 from 3-point range.
✅ Dramond Green. Omnipresent on defense and aggressive on offense, Draymond Green finished with 17 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds.
✅ Andrew Wiggins – Kevon Looney. Both X-factors in this series ended in double-doubles. 18 points and 10 rebounds from Wiggins, and 18 rebounds and 10 points from Looney. Awesome !
✅Jordan Poole. On difficulty during Game 4, he was also aggressive with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists while limiting damage on defense.
✅Spencer Dinwiddie. Boiling, the former Net and Wizard was the best player on his team, finishing with 26 points on 7-for-12 shooting.
✅ ⛔Stephen Curry. The MVP of this series lacked direction and scared the whole Dub Nation by spraining his ankle early in the match. He scored 15 points on 5-of-17 shooting and handed out 9 assists. His presence on the pitch opened the game for his teammates.
✅ ⛔ Luka Doncic. Except for the third quarter in which he scored 15 of his 28 points, the Slovenian never found his rhythm. He finished 10-for-28 shooting and looked tired. His lack of defense also hurt the Mavs.
⛔ Jalen Brunson-Reggie Bullock. The Mavs needed all of their second knives but Jalen Brunson (10 points on 3/10) and Reggie Bullock (6 points) couldn’t bring them that spark that might have given the Warriors pause.
THE CONTINUATION
golden state will receive Boston or Miami on the night of Thursday to next Friday, for Game 1 of the NBA Finals
The Warriors find the Finals by firing the Mavericks!
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