Playing against a banged-up Dallas Mavericks team on Wednesday, the Golden State Warriors quickly took control of the game in the first quarter and then coasted to their second successive victory 116-96.
Golden State was led by Kevin Durant, who finished the game with 28 points and 10 rebounds. Stephen Curry chipped in 24 and added Klay Thompson had 20 points. The Mavs got solid performances from Harrison Barnes (25 points and 8 rebounds) and Seth Curry (10 points and nine assists).
Takeaways:
Ankle issues for Steph? Curry tweaked his ankle while guarding his brother Seth in the third quarter and left the game for a few minutes.
But after getting his ankle re-taped, Curry returned to the game and showed no ill effects from the injury. This was just a minor injury for Curry and he was able to return but it is definitely something to monitor in the coming days.
Dallas basically fielded half a team: One reason Golden State defeated Dallas so easily was because the Mavs were without a large part of their regular rotation. Both Deron Williams and Dirk Nowitzki missed the game due to an injury. And then since Dallas was playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Mavs rested Andrew Bogut, Wesley Matthews and J.J. Barea.
Durant enters Jordan territory: Recording his third 20/10 game of the season, Durant led the Warriors with a game-high 28 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Durant has now scored 20-plus points in 72 consecutive regular-season games, a feat that has him tied with Michael Jordan.
Durant is averaging well over 20-plus points a game, so he will likely surpass Jordan in Golden State's next game.
Steph vs. Seth: Despite this game being a blowout, the duel between the Curry brothers was quite entertaining at times. Just ask Ayesha Curry, who was fired up about the matchup:
Steph got the better of Seth, though. The Warriors superstar not only got the victory but he finished the game with 24 points (including four treys) and six assists. The Mavs guard did have a solid overall game, finishing with 10 points, nine assists, five steals and two blocks.
Klay got his groove back: Struggling to shoot the ball since the start of the season, Thompson finally found his stroke against the Mavs. Thompson did most of his damage in the first quarter, missing only one shot and knocking down four 3-pointers. He finished the quarter with 18 points, single-handedly outscoring the Mavs, who scored only 15 in the period.
Going 8 for 13 -- including 4 for 7 from beyond the arc -- Thompson finished the game with 20 points and looked much more like himself against Dallas.
Warriors on fire from deep in the first half: Feeding off Thompson's four first-quarter treys, the Warriors knocked down 14 3-pointers in the first half. Thanks to great ball movement and solid screens, Golden State finished the first half shooting 14 for 20 from three.
That's a season-high for any team in a half this season. Golden State's franchise record is 15 in a half, so the Warriors were clearly showing signs of their former selves against the Mavs.
No rest for the weary: Golden State will have to play again on Thursday night in Denver. But because of the blowout, Curry, Durant, Thompson and Draymond Green got plenty of rest and should be well prepared to take on the Nuggets.