On December 31, Beijing time, the Golden State Warriors will sit at home to face the fierce rival Dallas Mavericks, both teams are currently in two consecutive defeats, and it can be said that each other is in a bad state, especially the Warriors. At present, the Warriors are only 15-16 and ranked 11th in the West, and the Mavericks have also dropped from the top four in the West to sixth. According to previous reports, Warriors management is currently open to trading Andrew Wiggins, especially if Wiggins is unable to start with Kuminga at the same time, trading Wiggins will become very likely. Recently, there have been rumors about Wiggins' trade in the league!
Although the Warriors' attempt to trade Wiggins to change the status quo may seem incredible, it may be a last resort for them with a poor record! Because Wiggins is a player with a lot of trade value for the Warriors, and secondly, their team building policy is now beginning to favor young players, so it seems not surprising to trade Wiggins in this case! Last year, Wiggins signed a four-year, $109 million early contract extension with the Warriors, which can be said to be a cost-effective contract. Under the premise of not moving the library soup chase, trading Wiggins naturally becomes the preferred option. So, can the desperately struggling Warriors surprise fans in the final game of 2023?
In this game, the Mavericks sent Exum, Doncic, Jones, Hardy and Lively to start, while the Warriors sent Davis, Klay, Kuminga, Stephen Curry and Paul to start. At the beginning of the game, Paul assisted Davis to complete the empty catch, Kuming accelerated the offensive dunk, the Warriors played a 4-0 start, and then the Mavericks completed the score with a wave of 7-0, and Davis stopped the bleeding in time! Then the two sides entered a tug-of-war, and the Mavericks gradually took the initiative on the court, and after Powell completed the empty catch, the Mavericks led to 12 points. Podemski made a layup to stop the bleeding in time, Gervais scored the ball under the basket, and Paul hit a three-pointer to give the Mavericks an eight-point lead over the Warriors at 34-26 at the end of the first quarter. Doncic scored 11 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in the first quarter, which is Ben's 30+ triple-double! On the Warriors' side, Curry was 1 of 7, Klay was 1 of 4, and Davis scored 5 points, which was the highest on the team.
In the second quarter, the Warriors' offense still did not improve much, and the Mavericks played more and more smoothly under the leadership of Doncic, the Mavericks played 13-7 in the first five minutes to widen the difference to double digits, and as Hardy hit a jumper, the Warriors quickly paused! Curry and Wiggins scored one after another, the Warriors chased the difference to 4 points, Doncic stopped the bleeding 2+1 in time! Green crossed Yang with 3 300 steps, and the difference returned to double digits, Wiggins responded 2+1, and the two sides entered a tug-of-war! Paul forced Exum to turn over and hit a jumper, and the Mavericks led the Warriors by 9 points at 63-54 at the end of the first half.
First half stats: Mavericks Doncic 14 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, Exum 11 points and 4 assists, Lively 9 points and 5 rebounds, Hardaway Jr. 3 assists and 3 rebounds, Green 10 points. Warriors Curry 8 points and 4 assists, Klay 3 points, Kuminga 8 points and 5 rebounds, Paul 8 points and 2 assists, Wiggins 12 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, Podemski 4 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, Davis 7 points and 2 rebounds.
Yibian fought again, Kuminga came up and won the offense, Exum picked up the basket, Kuminga attacked again, Hardy hit the board, Davis also shot, and the two sides entered the offensive battle! Podemsky hit a three-point shot, and the difference returned to single digits again! Hardaway also scored three points, and the Mavericks did not give the Warriors a chance to chase points at all. Pojemski hit a 100-step three-pointer, Josh Green hit a layup, and Podemski hit a solid three-pointer to give the Mavericks a 12-point lead over the Warriors at 101-89 in the third quarter. The point difference is gradually widening, and Curry and Klay on the Warriors' side are not feeling good, and it is difficult to turn the tables!
In the fourth quarter, the Mavericks still firmly grasped the initiative on the court, and the Warriors were never able to close the score, and then Davis, Saric and Paul attacked one after another, and the Warriors set off a counteroffensive climax, Curry's three-point shot fell and the difference returned to single digits, and the Mavericks quickly paused! Doncic made a slow three-step layup to stop the bleeding in time, Kuminga three-pointer pierced Yang, Doncic responded with a mid-range shot, Hardy scored three points to put the icing on the cake, and the Mavericks regained a double-digit lead! Paul hit three points one after another, and the suspense of the game was pulled back, and the Warriors were only 5 points behind in an instant! Paul continued to hit three points but to no avail, and finally the Warriors lost 122-132 at home to the Mavericks and suffered three consecutive defeats!
Losing to the Mavericks by 10 points at home, the Warriors bid farewell to 2023 with three consecutive defeats, and I hope they can bounce back and get back on track in 2024! In this campaign, Coach Kerr took the initiative to change the lineup, he demoted Podemski and Looney to the bench, and let Paul and Davis partner Curry, Klay, and Kuminga to start the game, but the final result is still difficult to escape the doom of losing! Paul was 9-of-14 from the field and 6-of-9 from three-point range with 24 points, 2 rebounds and 6 assists, Davis had 17 points and 6 rebounds, Kuminga had 16 points and 9 rebounds, Podzemski had 13 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, Wiggins had 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, Saric had 3 points and 9 rebounds, and Looney had 5 points and 3 rebounds. Mavericks Doncic blasted 39 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists, Exum 19 points, Lively 12 points and 14 rebounds, Hardaway 16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, and Green 18 points.