Once Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson calmed down and stopped rushing their shots, the productivity of the “Splash Brothers” was too much for Dallas to respond to.
Especially since Andrew Wiggins worked all over the pitch to stop Luka Doncic.
Curry had 21 points and 12 rebounds to start the Western Conference finals on the right foot, giving the Golden State Warriors a 112-87 blowout victory over the Mavericks on Wednesday.
Golden State’s defense held off Doncic, who scored 20 points but shot just 6 of 18, including 3 of 10 from 3-point range.
“We just made it work, that was the main thing,” Wiggins said.
The Slovenian star hit back-to-back 3-pointers late in the first half to pull Dallas within 54-45 at halftime.
However, Curry and Thompson helped the Warriors stretch the lead in the second half.
“They did a great job, that’s all,” Doncic said of the Warriors’ performance.
Jalen Brunson scored 14 points but missed all five of his 3-pointers for the Mavs, who pulled off an upset by eliminating the West’s top-seeded Phoenix Suns in seven games.
Game 2 of the conference final, a maximum of seven games, is scheduled for Friday at the Chase Center, where the yellow-clad crowd brought reminiscences of 2007 on Wednesday.
Back then, the Warriors upset the top-seeded Mavericks and eliminated them after six games of the first-round playoff series at Oracle Arena.
This helped Golden State regain prominence. The Warriors reached five straight NBA Finals, from 2015-19, but missed the playoffs the previous two seasons.
Now, only the Mavs stand between Golden State and a new league final.
Wiggins added 19 points. He hit six of his first eight shots and ended up shooting eight of 17.
Jordan Poole also had 19 points as a reserve.
Doncic suffered a grazed face on a play with Wiggins in the first quarter.
“I see myself as a tougher guy,” he joked.