OAKLAND, Calif. _ With an easy, uncontested defensive rebound, followed by a few dribbles and a simple pass to Klay Thompson for a 3 on the wing, Kevin Durant had it _ his 10th rebound, 10th assist and first triple-double as a Golden State Warrior, completed midway through the third quarter.
You hardly even noticed.
It was a microcosm of Friday night in Oracle Arena. The Warriors didn't feel dominant, but they dominated, methodically handling a bad Mavericks team, 108-99, made to sound closer by some mop-up buckets by Dallas.
The first quarter was even: 29-29. Well-coached and understanding of their limitations, the Mavericks slowed Golden State's frantic pace, attacked some of the Warriors' softer spots on defense and squeaked out to a brief early lead.
After a week of hearing about their turnover woes _ from inside and outside the building _ the Warriors seemed to play a bit more conservative. Fewer risky passes, fewer full-throttle fastbreaks, smarter decisions but fewer highlights and huge runs.
Against a slow Mavericks team, they still got mostly clean looks. Steph Curry had 10 first-quarter points. Durant had six, plus six rebounds and four assists. But their offense wasn't at warp speed and had a few hiccups. Andre Iguodala clanged three early open 3s hard off different, strange parts of the rim. His shot looked way off.
But the Warriors settled into the game in the second quarter. Durant nailed a pair of 3s and had 14 at half. Draymond Green rumbled downcourt for an end-to-end slam, one of the game's rare fastbreak highlights. The defense stiffened.
Shaun Livingston and David West _ two veterans built to thrive in a more methodical basketball environment _ combined for 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the second quarter. The Warriors won the period 30-19 and led at halftime 59-48.
Then Thompson got hot in the third quarter and put the Mavericks away. Thompson hit six of his seven shots in 10 third quarter minutes, nailing three 3s and scoring 17 of his 29. One of those 3s came via Durant, who gobbled enough rebounds and made enough smart, within-the-offense passes to have a 16-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist line by midway through the third.
You looked at the stat sheet and it was, oh, wow, where did that triple-double come from? It was his first as a Warrior and only Golden State's second this season (Green had the other).
Durant did it in 27 minutes, joining Russell Westbrook and James Harden (his former teammates) as the only three to complete a triple-double in three quarters this season. He finished the night with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
The Warriors entered the fourth quarter leading 91-69 and only one piece of drama remained: Would rookie center Damian Jones make his Oracle Arena debut in extended mop-up duty?
Jones didn't. Dallas crawled back within shouting distance and, though Kerr did finish the game with a batch of reserves, he didn't go too deep into his bench, as Dallas won the fourth quarter 30-17 to only lose by nine.
But they never really felt like a threat and the game had a friendly feel to it because of some familiar faces. Steph Curry's brother, Seth, was in the building, scoring 11 points off the Mavericks' bench. Andrew Bogut was on the Dallas sideline in street clothes, a healthy scratch _ again _ against the Warriors this season for rest purposes.
Harrison Barnes played a starring role for the struggling Mavericks, much as he's done all season. Before the game, Kerr said he was happy for Barnes and admitted that Barnes had exceeded his early expectations as a go-to guy.
Barnes made 11 of his 18 shots, splashing in a batch of tough mid-range jumpers over Green and finished with a team-high 25 points before watching the fourth quarter from the bench.
The Warriors continue their homestand on Monday night against the Denver Nuggets.
