SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 32 points with six 3-pointers and eight rebounds, Kevon Looney had a career-high 21 points and 12 rebounds, and the Golden State Warriors used one of their signature third-quarter flurries to rally past the Dallas Mavericks 126-117 on Friday night for a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
Luka Doncic and the Mavericks led most of the way before the Warriors took their first lead of the night on Otto Porter Jr.’s 3-pointer 18 seconds into the fourth. Porter’s three-point play with 7:21 remaining made it 100-92.
Doncic scored 18 of his 42 points in the first quarter — two points shy of his 20-point Game 1 total. His 3-pointer with 13 seconds before halftime put Dallas up 72-58 at the break and gave him 24 points.
He even got a Twitter shoutout from Oakland’s own MC Hammer: “Ok young Luka … We see you.”
Andrew Wiggins’ 3-pointer with 49 seconds left in the third got Golden State back within 83-81 only for Doncic to answer on a layup moments later. But a 25-13 quarter for the Warriors pulled them to 85-83 going into fourth — a third quarter reminiscent of those that defined so many of their recent playoff runs.
Doncic shot 12 for 23 and shined in a game of brilliant shotmaking — the Warriors finished 56.1% from the floor. In the first half alone, Dallas edged Golden State 52.3% to 51.2%, including a remarkable 55.6% to 53.3% from 3-point range.
The series shifts to Dallas for Game 3 on Sunday. Golden State is two wins from a return to the NBA Finals for the first time since making five straight trips from 2015-19.
