Warriors take Game 3 vs. Mavericks; move one win away from NBA Finals
Due in part to the truncated 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 NBA seasons, the Golden State Warriors combined for just 54 wins over the last two years. The Warriors took a massive leap forward during the 2021-2022 campaign, looking to get back to perennial championship-contending ways, and finished 53-29 in the regular season to grab the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs this spring.
On Sunday night, superstar Stephen Curry and company moved one win away from getting back to the NBA Finals for the first time in three years, which was the tail end of their stretch of five consecutive appearances in the title round. Golden State defeated the Dallas Mavericks 109-100 on the road Sunday and now lead their Western Conference Finals series 3-0, with the potential clincher set for Tuesday.
Curry poured in a team-high 31 points, while Luka Doncic of the Mavericks led all scorers with 40 points. Andrew Wiggins had a playoff career-high 27 points and added 11 rebounds.
Wiggins was initially called for a charging foul on the dunk, but the Warriors challenged the ruling and won.
While head coach Steve Kerr's crew is looking like a near lock to compete in another NBA Finals, there was one piece of bad news on Sunday. In the first half, key bench piece Otto Porter Jr. exited with a foot injury and didn't return.
More must-reads: