Warriors at Mavericks
Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors are in the odd position of trying to avoid a losing streak. The Warriors, who suffered their lone loss this season in their last road game, will try not to make it two straight away from home when they open a two-game trip at the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.
Golden State dropped a 108-95 decision at Milwaukee in the finale of a seven-game trip on Dec. 12 but bounced back with five straight home wins by an average of 15.4 points. Curry closed out the homestand with a triple-double that included a 17-point burst in the final three-plus minutes of the second quarter, and the Warriors avoided a hangover after an emotional win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Christmas Day. The Mavericks are winners of three in a row and managed to keep the focus on the present in Monday’s win over Milwaukee without looking ahead to Golden State. “It feels good,” Dallas center Zaza Pachulia told reporters. “We’ve got the end of the year, so we’re trying to finish strong. This game is very important for us and a good team is coming to town, so we wanted to feel good about ourselves and our game.”
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (Golden State), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (29-1): Curry, who could be sidelined on the trip due to a lingering calf injury, was going up against his younger brother Seth on Monday and put on a show with 23 points, a career-high 14 rebounds and 10 assists. Golden State trailed at the half before going on to the 122-103 win and reportedly got a shot in the arm at the half from coach Steve Kerr, who implored the Warriors to play like a championship team. Kerr has missed the first 30 games while recovering from back surgery but is expected to travel with the team during the two-game Texas road trip, though interim coach Luke Walton will continue to lead the team.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (18-13): Dallas guard Wesley Matthews led the way with 22 points on Monday and played over 30 minutes for the third straight game as he continues to play his way back from a torn Achilles. “We weren’t even thinking about Golden State,” Matthews told reporters. “You know, it was Chicago, and then it was Milwaukee. We can’t overlook any team. We’re not in a position to, and our margin for error is too small to do anything like that.” Matthews’ increased playing time is also due to point guard Deron Williams (hamstring) missing the last three games, and Williams remains day-to-day.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Warriors G Leandro Barbosa (shoulder) sat out the last two games and is day-to-day.
2. Mavericks F Dirk Nowitzki struggled to a season-low seven points on 3-of-15 shooting on Monday.
3. Golden State has taken seven straight in the series, including the last three in Dallas.