Three years later, Golden State is very close to tasting an NBA final again: the Warriors, carried by Stephen Curry, won (109-100) a third success in a row against the Mavericks, despite Luka Doncic, Sunday in Dallas .
Never has a team led 3 to 0 managed to win the last four games of a series in the play-offs.
More than ever back to the wall, the Texan team is therefore obliged to write history.
Which promises to be very complicated, as Golden State seems to have mastered both the issue and the context, proving its coach Steve Kerr right, who continues to hammer home that his team "has retained the champion's DNA within it", strong in three crowns in five consecutive finals played between 2015 and 2019. This culture of winning is embodied by the essential Stephen Curry, who was once again instrumental in the success of his team.
The point guard played fair and efficiently.
And in an evening with vintage accents, his "splash brother" was not left out: Klay Thompson, despite an address at half mast in the first period, was able to find his shot during the second act (19 pts, 7 rebounds).
And what about Andrew Wiggins, who was able to take over from them, pulling out his muscles in the last quarter during which he scored 10 of his 27 points (11 rebounds)?
Under the limelight
His stratospheric and overpowering dunk, like Shawn Kemp, an expert in the genre in the 1990s in the jersey of the Seattle SuperSonics, who knocked down Doncic in passing, remains the strong image of this meeting, worthy of appearing in the Top 10 of the season. , if the collector Ja Morant (Memphis) deigns to leave a place.
On the following action, the winger crushed a tap, which gave air to his people (95-83), when Dallas tried to pick up the score.
But Luka Doncic had not said his last word.
The Slovenian prodigy was exceptional in the last twelve minutes, with 21 points in the bag, to finish the meeting with 40 units and 11 rebounds.
Problem, he was too alone in attack.
Apart from Spencer Dinwiddie (26 pts), very good off the bench, and Jalen Brunson (20 pts), the other Mavericks were not really in “Top Gun” mode.
If the long-range clumsiness (13/45) still punished Dallas, who still abused attempts, the credit also goes to the defense of Golden State, which has also in the past built its successes on the deterrence of all moments.
Which was not always visible, with the exploits of his fire attackers.
All these ingredients found, under the leadership of "Chef Curry", spice up the game of the Warriors, now very close to finding themselves in the limelight.