That's really the best way to describe what happened on Thursday. The Warriors thoroughly beat and dominated Dallas in a shocking fashion. It's obviously not a big surprise that they pulled it out, but the manner in which they just broke Dallas down in the 2nd half was just not something I expected. Some thoughts:- Obviously Dallas hung tight in the first half, but the Warriors were awesome in the 3rd. Tight defense and they were absolutely on fire. Of course, those things are almost a given when you go on an 18-0 run to effectively prematurely end the season of a 67 win team.
- The 3rd quarter was all about Golden State, but Dallas just gave up in the 4th. With the score 92-71 and 9 minutes left, I thought maybe there was a glimmer of hope for the Mavs. Then on one possession Richardson missed a shot, got his own rebound, gave it to Baron Davis who missed a 3, GS got the board again, and eventually Stephen Jackson was isolated on Maurice Ager and got the 3-point play. I think that was sort of the white flag for Dallas.
- Nothing really needs to be said about Baron Davis' game. Wow.
- With regards to Dirk, 2/13 sucks, but it happens. What I was more disappointed by was the total lack of aggression by him in the 2nd half. He was 1 for 4 from the field or something along those lines. 4 shots? In the elimination game? Are you kidding me Dirk? Golden State was playing great defense, but Dirk didn't even try to go to the hole.
- Don Nelson, bravo. Great coached series for him.
At this point, I like the Warriors to get to the conference finals, just because I think they'll have a good matchup with whoever they play. As long as the Davis injury isn't too serious, they're a threat to go all the way.