Dallas (66-14) at Golden State (40-40)
Currently: - Game info: 10:30 pm EDT Tue Apr 17, 2007
- TV: FSBA
The Golden State Warriors might halt the longest current playoff drought in the NBA on Tuesday by completing a stunning season sweep of the team they could face in the first round—the league-best Dallas Mavericks.
Golden State (40-40) can end a 12-year absence from the postseason by beating Dallas (66-14) for the third time in as many meetings this season, coupled with a Los Angeles Clippers’ loss at Phoenix on Tuesday. Even if the Clippers win, the Warriors can qualify for the postseason by winning at Portland on Wednesday in their regular-season finale.
“We’re in the driver’s seat, and what better position do you want, going into the last two games?” asked Golden State point guard Baron Davis, who turned 28 on Friday.
“We’re playing good basketball right now. We’ve got great chemistry, and we’re still learning and improving. But we know we’re not there yet. Dallas is the best team in the league. We’ve still got to keep our eye on what we want to do.”
Even though the Mavericks have clinched home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, they may try particularly hard to win Tuesday and hurt the postseason hopes of the Warriors and former Dallas coach Don Nelson. If Golden State does grab the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference, it would face top seed Dallas in the first round.
“We don’t want to lose any games regardless if we have it wrapped up or not, we still want to try to play well and not throw any games away,” Mavericks swingman Devean George said after the team’s 91-86 win over San Antonio on Sunday.
The Warriors have won the last four meetings, including two in Dallas, while averaging 115.0 points. Only two other teams defeated the Mavericks more than once this season—Utah and Phoenix—and neither of them beat Dallas three times.
Golden State ended the Mavs’ franchise-record 17-game winning streak with a 117-100 victory on March 12.
No Western Conference team has swept a season series from the Mavs since the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000-01. Golden State hasn’t done it since 1996-97.
The Warriors are in position to make the playoffs because of a surge that has seen them win 14 of their last 19 games, including seven of eight.
“We haven’t had the luxury of controlling our own destiny for a while, and that’s why we fought so hard, and have the record that we do down the stretch,” said Nelson, who coached Golden State to their last playoff appearance in 1993-94 and guided Dallas from 1997-2005.
Jason Richardson had 32 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Warriors to a 121-108 win over Minnesota on Sunday.
Richardson has averaged 23.9 points and 7.4 boards in the last eight games, a stretch during which Golden State has gone 7-1 while averaging 117.9 points.
The Mavericks, meanwhile, are just tuning up for the playoffs. If they win one of their final two games, they’ll finish tied for the fifth-most victories in one season in league history. They will tie for third-most if they win both.
Dallas closes the regular season at Seattle on Wednesday.
Team Comparison
| Team | Record | Standings | PF | PA | Road/Home | Streak | L10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas | 67-15 | 1st Southwest / 1st West | 100.0 | 92.8 | Road 31-10 | Won 1 | 6-4 |
| Golden State | 42-40 | 3rd Pacific / 8th West | 106.5 | 106.9 | Home 30-11 | Won 5 | 9-1 |
Blog Coverage from SB Nation
Mavs Moneyball
Golden State Of MindNotes
G Jason Terry finished with 16 points for Dallas, which suffered one of the worst losses in the playoff rivalry. ... Dallas failed to send the Spurs to consecutive home playoff losses for the first time since 2002.
Apr 21, 12:38 am EDT
Golden State players missed a combined 234 games with injuries. ... The Warriors had eight players in uniform and used only seven. ... C Andris Biedrins (nine points) and F-C Ronny Turiaf (eight) were the only players not to score in double figures for Golden State.
Apr 16, 1:58 am EDT