Mavericks outperform warriors to stay alive

DALLAS — Luka Doncic had 30 points and 14 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Golden State Warriors 119-109 on Tuesday night to avoid being swept into the Western Conference Finals.

It was the 10th double-double in his 14 games this postseason for Doncic, who also had nine assists and received some help from his supporting cast to extend that streak. He had 40 points in Game 3 when Reggie Bullock shot 0 for 10 shots with seven penalties from 3-point range.

Dorian Finney-Smith had 23 points and Bullock had 18 on 6-of-10 shooting – all 3-pointers. Jalen Brunson had 15 points. The Mavs were 20 of 43 on 3 pointers.

The loss ended the Warriors’ nine-game winning streak in the Western Conference Finals, though they still have that streak firmly in their grip and returned to California for Game 5 on Thursday night.

Stephen Curry had 20 points and came back with 3:22 left – his first appearance of the fourth quarter – after the Warriors reduced a 29-point deficit to 110-102. But they never got close, even as Curry and other starters returned to the ground.

Doncic then drove for a dunk and Bullock made his sixth 3-pointer.

Never has an NBA team come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series. Only three of the 146 teams that fell into this deep hole could even force a seventh game.

Jonathan Kuminga had 17 points and Andrew Wiggins had 13 points for the Warriors, who had seven players in double digits.

There was even a 16-minute rain delay when the start of the second half was delayed due to rain seeping through the roof of the American Airlines Center. It was raining heavily outside and there were at least two leaks. One dropped water near the Golden State Bank, and water appeared to fall onto the stands at the other end of the court.

A 3-pointer from Doncic gave the Mavs a 6:57 lead in the third quarter to 81-56, their widest lead to that point.

Draymond Green was fouled on subsequent possession at the Golden State, and his first free throw attempt stopped on the wide back of the rim. After Doncic and Green stood on the lane together laughing before the ball was finally knocked down, Green then also missed the second attempt, which, however, just didn’t go through the rim and bounced off Doncic.

Dallas prevailed on a 25-6 run for nearly 7 minutes of the second quarter, during which the Warriors missed nine of 10 shots and had two turnovers.

Golden State led 31-29 after a jumper from Moses Moody and had just one shot in the next seven minutes. A 3-pointer from Davis Bertans finally put the Mavericks ahead.

The Mavericks went 62-47 at the half after Doncic drove to a hard layup and responded to Curry’s basket at the other end.