With a stellar Luka Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks beat the Golden State Warriors 119-109 on Tuesday and stayed alive in the NBA Western Conference final. Doncic fell one assist short of a triple-double by totaling 30 points, 14 rebounds and nine touchdown services, but the Warriors continue to dominate the lead now 3-1.
The winner of this series -the best of seven games- will face the winner of the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals, which is tied between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics at two wins apiece.
The Mavericks had gone into halftime with a 62-47 lead thanks to the performances of Doncic and Jalen Brunson, who each had 13 points so far.
By the end of the third quarter, the Mavericks already had an abysmal 99-70 lead.
The Balkan praised his teammates’ defensive performance after a display that eclipsed Golden State’s leading scorer Stephen Curry by 20 points. “Our defense was amazing today,” Luka said. “This is how we have to play, when we play like this we are a dangerous team.”
No team in the 75-year history of the NBA has come back from 3-0 down in playoff history. But after Tuesday’s performance, the Mavs are counting on the miracle. Now, the series returns to California, where a local victory would send Kerr’s men back to an NBA Finals.
