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Oubre has career-night, Draymond puts on a show as center-less Warriors sprint past Mavs

By

Jake Montero

/

Maybe the Warriors should play without a center more often.

With just nine active players and their tallest standing at 6-foot-7, Golden State (12-10) used their speed and ball movement to race past the defensively inept Mavericks (9-14) in Dallas, 147-116, Thursday night.

All-world performances by Kelly Oubre and Draymond Green helped make up for the absences of James Wiseman, Kevon Looney and Eric Paschall. Oubre had a career-high 40 points (14-of-21) and was deadly from three-point range (7-of-10). When Oubre isn’t forcing his three-point shot, and making the open ones, he’s an excellent player. He’s done more of that recently, his three-point percentage for the season (now over 27 percent) starting to progress to the mean after a dismal start.

Then there was Green, who played with an energy he’s mostly reserved for the postseason in previous years. You knew it was going to be a different night when he threw down a first-quarter tomahawk jam.

Draymond was relentless pushing the ball, doing it after nearly every missed basket for all of his 29 minutes. He was just as brilliant as a conductor in the half-court, tossing a season-high 15 assists while also scoring a season-high 11 points, just the third time this season he’s scored in double-figures.

Still, it was Draymond’s passing that stole the show. Just look at some of these:

Overall, the ball movement was exceptional throughout, with the Warriors dishing 37 assists on 51 made baskets, 22 of which came from beyond the three-point line.

For Dallas, who broke a six-game losing streak the night before, it was just a rough night. Already a bad defensive team (19th in efficiency) especially in transition, Dallas’ bigs could not keep up with the Warriors. Even big scoring nights by Luka Donic (27 points, -28) and Kristaps Porzingis (25 points, -21) were not enough to stop the bleeding on the other end. Dallas’ big two was even outscored by the Warriors reserves 17-7 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Draymond and Stephen Curry didn’t even have to return to the game.

Speaking of Curry, the Mavs weren’t able to stop him either, despite dedicating significant defensive energy to protect the perimeter. Curry scored 28 on just 17 shots in 30 minutes, offering a few reminders why he’s the leading All-Star vote getter among NBA guards. Curry also became the first player to make 100 three-pointers this year.

While Dallas had no answer for Golden State, they’ll get another crack at them on Saturday in prime time. Expect a number of adjustments as the Mavericks try to avoid getting embarrassed on national TV again by a team without a center.

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