DALLAS _ The NBA season turned a month old for the Mavericks Saturday night and we really have no clue about where exactly this team is heading.
But what we've learned in the last week and again on Saturday is that they are a persistent group that plays hard and doesn't accept failure with any sort of grace.
The Mavericks pulled out a 112-109 victory over the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors behind strong nights from rookie Luka Doncic and Harrison Barnes, who combined for 47 points.
It extended the Mavericks' winning streak to four games and ended a 10-game losing streak in the series against the Warriors.
The Mavericks have looked alternately awful and awesome and Saturday's first meeting of the season with the Warriors was mostly the latter. The Mavericks had the good fortune of catching the Warriors at a relatively good time as they were without superstar Steph Curry (groin) and all-star Draymond Green (toe).
Not that the Warriors were devoid of talent. But losing two of their best players certainly takes its toll. But with Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, the Warriors still represented a test of sorts for the Mavericks.
Combined with Thursday's loss at Houston, this is the first time all season the Warriors have lost two in a row. The pressure is on San Antonio now to pull off the Texas hat trick against the Spurs on Sunday.
The Mavericks clearly are making big strides these days. Four wins in a row have not come easy. But it has gotten them back within a game of .500 at 7-8.
"There's a togetherness and a bond that's being built in the locker room," coach Rick Carlisle said. "They're really sacrificing for each other. They're giving themselves up at the defensive end of the court. The guys are making strides, but they've earned the success they've had with hard work and sticking together."
The Mavericks had the Warriors on the ropes early in the fourth quarter when Devin Harris canned a trifecta and Dwight Powell converted a three-point play to put the Mavericks up 93-92.
They had a chance to grow that lead, but J.J. Barea's drive hung on the rim and would not fall. Then Jonas Jerebko knocked down a 3-pointer.
But the Mavericks kept the pressure on. They took the lead 109-108 on a Doncic drive into the paint. And on the next possession, Doncic missed a 3-pointer that could have given the Mavericks critical breathing space. When he got to the bench at the ensuing timeout, he slammed the padded seats with his hands twice in frustration.
That's a good sign that missing a crucial shot hurts that much.
The Mavericks got a little lucky with Durant and Thompson both missing shots down the stretch. When Doncic made two free throws with 7.2 seconds left, the Mavericks were up 112-108 and a Durant free throw in the waning seconds mattered not.
Carlisle cautioned against having a hangover after the 50-point rout the Mavericks had against Utah on Wednesday.
He said he wasn't worried about any sort of letdown. And the Mavericks fired out to an early eight-point lead and were neck and neck with the Warriors through a contentious first half in which both Durant and Warriors' coach Steve Kerr picked up technical fouls.
The Mavericks were pretty much helpless against Durant, which happens to a lot of teams. But they had a nice counter punch with Doncic, about whom Kerr had an interesting comparison before the game.
"In baseball, they call him a five-tool player, a guy who can sort of do everything," Kerr said. "That's what he is in basketball. He can dribble, pass and shoot. He's got the feel, smarts, guts."
Doncic clearly was motivated early in the game. He hit his first two 3-pointers and finished the first half with 14 points. The Mavericks got great production from their starters, minus Wesley Matthews who missed the game with a left hamstring strain.
