SAN FRANCISCO – Luka Doncic dominated most of the night, shouting in celebration and bending his arms at Stephen Curry’s house.
Then Curry and Golden State Warriors presented one of those remarkable thrills in the third quarter that determined so many of their post-season runs – with the one caused by Kevan Looney.
That’s right, they are two wins from their return to another NBA final.
Curry scored 32 points with six three points and eight rebounds, Looney had a career record of 21 points and 12 rebounds, and the Warriors outscored the Dallas Mavericks 126-117 on Friday for a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
“I feel honored to be just part of the journey,” Luni said.
Doncic scored 42 points and the Mavericks led most of the way before Golden State grabbed its first lead of the night with three points from Otto Porter Jr. in the 18 seconds after the fourth.
“We were able to use that as momentum,” Porter said.
Doncic scored 18 points in the first quarter, two less than his total 20 points in Match 1. His 3-pointer 13 seconds before halftime – his 15th for the Mavs in the first half – scored 72-58 at the break and gave him 24 points.
“Against someone so good, you’re just trying to keep things easy,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr.
Doncic even received a Twitter shout from Auckland’s own MC Hammer: “Okay, young Luke … We see you.”
But Golden State responded with a 25-13 third quarter to draw 85-83 in the fourth – coming out after halftime with a performance reminiscent of those exciting third quarters of the past. At one point, the Warriors were 19 behind.
“We know how good they are as a third-quarter team,” said Dallas striker Reggie Bullock. “It’s just something that slipped away while the game went on.”
Doncic shot 12 to 23 and shone in a brilliant game – the Warriors finished with 56.1% of the floor. In the first half alone, Dallas overtook Golden State by 52.3% to 51.2%, including a remarkable 55.6% to 53.3% of the 3-point range.
Luney then scored 11 points in a 5-by-6 shot in the third, and Golden State beat Dallas 68-45 after halftime.
“These are the Warriors. They have a great team. They are a champion team. We need to adjust our defense,” Doncic said. “… We were up by 19, so the situation is difficult. But we can’t look back. What happened happened. So we have to move on.”
The series moves to Dallas for Game 3 on Sunday. Golden State has two wins since returning to the NBA Finals for the first time since five consecutive trips in 2015-19.
“We’re on our way to one of the best teams in the league. It’s happening. They’ve endured,” said Mavs coach Jason Kidd. “We saw this in Phoenix, so now we have to go back and just focus on game 3.”
Jordan Poole scored 23 points from the bench, Andrew Wiggins scored 16, and Clay Thompson, who was left without a result in the first part of the opening of the series, added 15 points for the second consecutive game. Golden State scored 62 points in the fight.
Jalen Brunson scored eight of Dallas’ first 14 points on the road to 31. The Mavericks shouldn’t have seen so much of Draymond Green, who completed his fifth foul at 6:01 left in third, then came back with 6: 33 left before a foul , remaining 2:25.
The teams tangled at 8:03 until the end of the second quarter in front of the Dallas bench. Warriors reserve Damien Lee closed when Davis Bertans hit a three-pointer from the corner and Bertans tripped Lee and sent him hard to the floor. Lee was to be detained by official Eric Lewis.
The players received a double technique.
In Game 1 two days earlier, Doncic faced a stifling defense by Wiggins and shot just 6 for 18 and 3 out of 10 from depth. Kidd was expecting a far better outing in Game 2.
Golden State continued to accelerate and made 16 turns after 15 in the beginning. At halftime, Kerr asked his team to settle down.
“I told them that if we develop a little balance in the second half, the game will come to us,” he said. “But I thought we were so scattered in the first half. Maybe emotionally more than anything. Dallas came out and just hit us.
RELIABLE LOONEY
Returning to the starting lineup for the clinch game 6 in the semifinals against Memphis, Looney shot 10 to 14 after scoring all five of his flights in Game 1. He was one of five players to play in all 82 games of the regular season.
“He was the rock inside for us,” Porter said. “… When he’s down there, he does all the dirty work, cleans the bounces.”
Luni scored his second double of his career after the season.
“Tonight was my night to make a big difference, and I just got stronger,” Looney said.
TYPE-INS
Mavericks: Dallas led by 16 in the first quarter. … The Mavs again jumped 43-30 after a 51-35 deficit in Game 1. They made one less turn with 12 after Doncic had seven at the start of the series.
Warriors: G Gary Peyton II _ who broke his left elbow in a heavy foul when Memphis star Dylan Brooks hit him on May 3 in a quick break for Flagrant 2, throwing and removing from one game _ does light individual work on the court, which includes shoot with his non-dominant right hand and will be re-evaluated in a week. … F Andre Iguodala missed his ninth consecutive match with a disc injury in the neck, continues his rehabilitation with physical therapy and training in the gym with weights with light work on the court. Warriors said they would provide an update when he was allowed to train. … Golden State improved to 8-0 at home this postseason and is 18-5 in Game 2, dating back to the title in 2015. … Green was selected as the second NBA team for all defenses.
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