POSTSEASON IMPLICATIONS
After winning their first road game since Jan. 30, the Warriors look to end the road trip on a high note against the Dallas Mavericks. The Warriors and Mavericks are in a tight battle for sixth place in the Western Conference standings. The Warriors are 0.5 games ahead of Dallas and would avoid the NBA’s play-in tournament if they secure a top-six seed. With the season series tied 1-1, the winner of Wednesday’s game will move ahead in the standings and secure the head-to-head tiebreaker. In their most recent matchup against the Mavericks, a 119-113 home victory on Feb. 4., the Dubs had seven players score in double figures.
Warriors at Mavericks
Wednesday, March 22 | Tipoff: 4:30 p.m.
WATCH: NBCSBA (local); ESPN (non-local)
LISTEN: 95.7 The Game, ESPN Radio, Warriors Mobile App and Warriors Radio Network
LAST TIME OUT
Aided by 59 points from the Splash Brothers, the Warriors snapped an 11-game road losing streak with Monday's 121-108 win in Houston. The Warriors also completed a four-game season sweep of the Rockets. Stephen Curry scored a game-high 30 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter and Klay Thompson scored 29 points on 11-for-21 shooting. » Full Game Recap
Golden State Warriors Highlights vs. Houston Rockets
MATCHUP AT A GLANCE
| GSW | DAL |
| 37-36 | 36-36 |
| 6th in West | 8th in West |
| PTS: 118.3 (2nd) | PTS: 113.7 (17th) |
| REB: 44.1 (9th) | REB: 38.8 (30th) |
| AST: 29.6 (1st) | AST: 22.6 (28th) |
PREVIOUS GAME STARTERS
GSW: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Donte DiVincenzo, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney
DAL: Kyrie Irving, Josh Green, Reggie Bullock, Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell
INJURY & ROSTER NOTES
GSW: Kevon Looney (low back; soreness) and Draymond Green (left hand/wrist; soreness) are probable. Andre Iguodala (left wrist; fracture), Gary Payton II (right adductor soreness), Ryan Rollins (right foot surgery) and Andrew Wiggins (personal reasons) are out. Team Notes
DAL: Luka Doncic (left thigh; strain) is probable. (Kyrie Irving (right foot; soreness), Tim Hardaway Jr. (non-covid; illness) and A.J. Lawson (g league-two way) are out. Team Notes
WEAKNESSES TO EXPLOIT
With the Mavericks being the worst rebounding team in the league (30th; 38.8 RPG), the Dubs (9th; 44.2 RPG) should be able to take advantage on the glass. Kevon Looney, who recorded his 13th double-double on Monday, leads the charge for the Dubs, having grabbed double-digit rebounds in five of his last six games. Looney averages a team-high 9.1 rebounds per game. Draymond Green is second with 7.3 and Stephen Curry is averaging a career-best 6.2 boards per contest.
The Mavericks also move the ball less frequently than the Warriors. As a result, they rank 28th in assists (22.6 per game), with most of those dimes coming from Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving, who have the ball far more than everyone else. The Warriors, however, pride themselves on ball and player movement, leading the league in assists (29.6 per game).
TEAM LEADERS
| GSW | DAL |
| PTS: Curry (29.8) | PTS: Doncic (33.0) |
| REB: Looney (9.1) | REB: Doncic (8.6) |
| AST: D. Green (6.8) | AST: Doncic (8.0) |
DALLAS SCOUTING REPORT
Despite making the Western Conference Finals last season, the Dallas Mavericks continued to explore ways to upgrade their roster. So, when superstar guard and NBA champion Kyrie Irving requested a trade, the Mavericks jumped all over the opportunity to pair him with MVP candidate Luka Doncic. Doncic does a bit of everything for the Mavericks, leading the team in scoring (33.0 PPG), rebounding (8.6 RPG) and assists (8.0 APG). Among starters, Doncic has the second-highest usage rate in the league (37.2), only slightly behind Giannis Antetokounmpo (37.4). Adding Irving alleviates some of that ball-handling responsibility and allows less drop-off when their top scorer rests. Doncic is the league’s top scorer in the first quarter (11.8 PPG), while Irving is the top scorer in the fourth (9.5 PPG), so this duo should have the bookends of the game covered.
Naturally, it will take time for these new teammates to learn how to play together, especially considering they’re both used to being lead guards. Since Irving arrived, Dallas is 3-6 when he and Doncic play together and 3-1 when Irving plays without Doncic. Kyrie Irving (right foot; soreness) will not play in Wednesday's game after sustaining his injury in Monday's game against the Grizzlies. Luka Doncic (left thigh; strain) is expected to return Wednesday, after missing the previous five games.