The Warriors will look to bust out of their slump as they play the second of four straight road games on Thursday against the Mavericks.
Warriors at MavericksThursday, March 35:30 p.m.
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REMATCH IN DALLAS
After losing six of their last eight games, the Warriors have endured their longest slump of the season, but they’ll look to right the ship when their road trip continues on Thursday in Dallas. This will be the fourth and final meeting between the two clubs this season, and the second this week after the Warriors lost a heartbreaker at home after leading the Mavs by 19 in the fourth quarter on Sunday. The Dubs have gone 1-2 against Dallas this season, and with 20 games left in the season, it’s not out of the question that these two cubs will meet again in the playoffs.
LAST TIME OUT
The Warriors got 34 points from Stephen Curry but it wasn’t enough to keep pace with the Timberwolves in Tuesday’s 129-114 loss in Minnesota. » Full Game Recap
MATCHUP AT A GLANCE
PREVIOUS GAME STARTERS
GSW: Stephen Curry, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II, Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney
DAL: Luka Doncic, Jalen Brunson, Reggie Bullock, Dorian Finney-Smith and Dwight Powell
INJURY & ROSTER NOTES
GSW: Draymond Green (left L5-s1; disc) and James Wiseman (right knee) are out. Klay Thompson (illness), Moses Moody (left eye contusion) and Andre Iguodala (lower back tightness) are TBD. Team Notes
DAL: Marquese Chriss (right knee soreness), Tim Hardaway Jr. (left foot surgery) and Theo Pinson (right finger fracture) are out. Trey Burke (left shoulder sprain) and Frank Ntilikina (right ankle sprain) are questionable. Team Notes
DEFENSIVE STRUGGLES
For the season, the Warriors have the league’s best defensive rating, allowing 104.8 points per 100 possessions. But lately, that hasn’t been the case. Minnesota’s 129 points on Tuesday were the most the Dubs have allowed in a single game this season, the latest example in the team’s defense not playing to the high standard established earlier this season. Since this stretch of six losses in eight games began, the Dubs have allowed nearly 10 more points per game than their season-long average and opponent shooting percentages, particularly from 3-point range, are also markedly higher during this skid than their overall stats would indicate. Of course, not having Draymond Green in the lineup for the last two months tells part of that story, and it doesn’t help that other standout defenders such as Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson have missed some games recently as well. For the Warriors to snap out of that defensive funk, they’ll need to do it in the halfcourt, as the Mavs play at the slowest pace in the league.
TEAM LEADERS
DALLAS SCOUTING REPORT
While the Warriors have been struggling as of late, the Mavs enter Thursday’s matchup having won eight of their last 10 games. All-Star Luka Doncic is at the center of the Mavs’ success, and he has averaged 28.3 points against the Warriors this season. The Dubs, however, have contained his playmaking this season, limiting Doncic to just 4.3 assists per game, less than half his overall average for the season. A trade deadline acquisition last month, Spencer Dinwiddie played his best game as a Mav against the Warriors on Sunday, scoring 24 points on 14 shots, and Dallas has further playmaking depth at the guard spot with Jalen Brunson and his career-best 16.1 points and 5.3 assists per game.