On Wednesday night, the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Golden State Warriors 109-99, with Luka Doncic scoring 21 points and ending his seven-game triple-double streak.
The league’s leading scorer, Doncic, departed the game in the fourth quarter due to left hamstring pain.
The Warriors were without Stephen Curry for the third game in a row, and it showed with sub-40% shooting for nearly the entire game, resulting in their fifth loss in six games this season without him.
Curry’s sprained right ankle has kept Golden State at 1-2 since his absence. Before the game, Coach Steve Kerr stated that Curry should join the team in Los Angeles, where the Warriors will play the Lakers on Saturday. It’s unknown whether he’ll be accessible.
The Warriors were also without Draymond Green, who was scratched before the game due to back soreness. Jonathan Kuminga led Golden State with 27 points.
Daniel Gafford went 5 for 5 from the floor, all on dunks, to extend his run of made field goals to 33, two short of Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA record established in 1967. The 6-foot-10 centre, who was acquired before the trade deadline, recorded seven blocks, a season high.
Doncic finished with nine assists and three rebounds, capping a triple-double run that featured NBA records for five consecutive games with at least 35 points and six consecutive games with at least 30 points.
While the Warriors did not shoot well from anywhere, the Mavericks had one of their worst 3-point shooting performances of the season, starting 1 of 17 and finishing 6 of 27 (22%).
Doncic raised his arms in the air after making his only connection from deep in the third quarter. He was 1 of 6 from beyond the arc, while Kyrie Irving was 1 of 5 for 23 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds.
While Doncic was sitting early in the fourth quarter, the Mavericks went on an 11-0 run, taking an 87-72 lead. Doncic returned for only 22 seconds later in the quarter before departing again. Shortly after, the club stated that he would not return.
Golden State’s Andrew Wiggins finished with 17 points.