DALLAS — In the tunnels of American Airlines Arena, about 20 minutes after the Golden State Warriors fell 108-106 to the Dallas Mavericks, Chris Paul wanted to get another look at the final possession. There was some chatter about a Kyrie Irving uncalled foul, coming over and whacking Steph Curry on the arm with a couple of seconds left.
But Paul was more interested in the moments after. Irving had doubled off him, sprinting up to force the ball out of Curry’s hands. Curry flipped it over to Paul, who opted for the quick redirect pass to Klay Thompson in the corner.
Paul rewatched it on a laptop. He wondered whether the better choice would’ve been an attempted jumper of his own. Was he more open? Less rushed? The video absolved him of blame. The pass hit Thompson in time. It left his hands with 0.3 still on the clock. It was about as clean a look as can be expected in the moment for a player who is fourth in the league in made 3s this season. Thompson just front-rimmed it.
This was a missed opportunity for the Warriors. They faced the Mavericks without Luka Dončić and, through a physical game, put themselves in position to win in the closing sequence.
Curry made a long 3 after a wipeout Draymond Green screen with 58.1 seconds left to cut the Dallas lead to one. They executed the next defensive possession perfectly, doubling Irving and forcing the ball into the hands of Derrick Jones Jr., a career 32 percent 3-point shooter who clanged one from the corner.
Curry grabbed the rebound, didn’t give it up and strode into a semi-transition 26-footer with 31.1 seconds left to put the Warriors up two, a pristine look given the circumstance. But Curry, like Thompson, left it front rim, the first of two misses that’ll sting in the moment and could prove costly next weekend when seeding is finalized.
The Warriors still had an opportunity. The most controversial officiating decision of the night came seconds after the Curry miss. He got back on defense and tried to take a charge on a rumbling P.J. Washington. It was ruled a block.
The Warriors challenged the call. The officials upheld the decision and explained to Curry afterward that, while his heel was hovering above the restricted area and not touching the line, they still deemed him in the restricted area because his heel was above it. It’s a call and explanation Curry said he hadn’t heard in his 15 NBA seasons.
Washington hit one of two free throws. The Mavericks were up two. Curry hit a midrange jumper to tie it with 13 seconds left. Dallas called timeout. The Warriors doubled Irving again on the game’s deciding possession, forcing it out of his hands. Tim Hardaway Jr. made the play of the night, finding a crack in a downhill four-on-three setting to fit in a pass to Washington, who slipped in a layup with 4.1 seconds left.
“Hell of a pass,” Kerr said. “Just getting it over the outstretched of a couple guys. Trayce (Jackson-Davis) was there first and then Draymond was right behind him, probably an inch away from deflecting the ball.”
STEPH TIES IT BUT PJ WASHINGTON RESPONDS TO TAKE THE LEAD BACK 🍿 pic.twitter.com/uoEqbU7e2D
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 6, 2024
Of note: The Warriors were short-handed. Andrew Wiggins tweaked his ankle in Houston and sat out. Jonathan Kuminga appeared near a return from his knee tendinitis but was ruled out about an hour before tip, missing a sixth straight game.
“I don’t know anything,” Kerr said. “He warmed up before the game and said he couldn’t go. Both guys are day to day.”
This wasn’t a must-win for the Warriors. They handled enough business during this recent six-game win streak to generate enough separation from the Rockets that they’re all but guaranteed to be at least the 10th seed at this point, giving them a spot in the Play-In.
But things broke right for them earlier in the day. The Kings lost at the buzzer in Boston and the Pelicans lost at home to the Spurs. With a win, they would’ve pulled within one game of the Lakers and Kings for the eighth and ninth spots and within two games of the reeling Pelicans for the seventh spot, clearing a path for an unlikely climb to the top side of the Play-In.
The rest of their schedule breaks well: vs. Jazz, at Lakers (with the tiebreaker on the line), at Blazers, vs. Pelicans (with the tiebreaker on the line) and vs. Jazz again. That’s three near-gimmes against two tanking teams and two head-to-head opportunities against two of the three teams directly ahead of them in the standings.
The Pelicans also face the Kings and Lakers in the season’s final week. There’s carnage and opportunity ahead. A 5-0 finish would still put the Warriors in prime position to slip into seventh or eighth, but the road would’ve been more forgiving had they pulled out a win in Dallas on Friday night.
(Photo of Klay Thompson taking the last shot of Friday’s game over the Mavericks’ Derrick Jones Jr.: Kevin Jairaj / USA Today)
