Warriors rip Mavericks at home, lead 2-1
(AP)Updated: 2007-04-28 13:53 The Golden State Warriors put on a show that was well worth their fans' 13-year wait.
Jason Richardson had 30 points and eight rebounds, Baron Davis added 24 points and the Warriors steamrolled the NBA-leading Dallas Mavericks for the second time in three games, winning 109-91 Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.
The Bay Area's first NBA playoff game since May 4, 1994, was a rollicking success for the eighth-seeded Warriors, whose faithful fans endured 12 straight losing seasons before coach Don Nelson got them back to the playoffs this spring.
 Dallas Mavericks' Erick Dampier, second from left, looks for a rebound against Golden State Warriors' Al Harrington, center, as Golden State's Baron Davis, left, Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, of Germany, second from right, and Mickael Pietrus, right, of France, watch during the first half of an NBA Western Conference first-round basketball playoff game in Oakland, Calif., Friday, April 27, 2007. [AP]  |
And after dominating both ends of the court in another improbably comfortable win over the mighty Mavericks, the Warriors are halfway to what probably would be the biggest first-round upset in NBA playoff history.
The biggest crowd in Warriors history -- 20,629 yellow-clad fans packed into the rafters of Oracle Arena -- rarely sat down during Oakland's biggest party in years. The fans chanted "Overrated!" at the flustered Mavs and Dirk Nowitzki, who had 20 points and 12 rebounds in another poor performance.
Game 4 in the best-of-seven series is Sunday night in Oakland, with Game 5 back in Dallas on Tuesday.
Stephen Jackson scored 16 points and Monta Ellis had 14 for the Warriors, who extended their uncanny Mavs mastery with their seventh win in the clubs' last eight meetings overall, including a three-game regular-season sweep.
The Warriors led throughout the final 44 minutes, taking an 18-point lead in the first half and going up by 22 in the third quarter before coasting home. Richardson was largely unstoppable, mixing drives with four 3-pointers in the six-year veteran's first playoff showcase at home.
So what's wrong with the Mavs? Not even coach Avery Johnson seems to know. After winning 67 games during the sixth-best regular season in NBA history, the Mavericks have looked inexplicably ordinary against the Warriors' speed and skill.
Nowitzki battled constant foul trouble in Game 3, and Golden State's hustling defense somehow turned the probable league MVP into a bumbler or a bystander on most Dallas possessions. His teammates were little help outside of Josh Howard's 20 points, with Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse both enduring poor shooting nights.
The Warriors shocked Dallas 97-85 in Game 1 with their uptempo offense and fearless play, but fell apart in the second half of an otherwise competitive Game 2. Davis and Jackson were ejected, and Jackson was hit with a $50,000 fine from the league Friday for his behavior.
But Golden State regained its momentum and maturity back home -- and Nelson tweaked the Mavs again with a new starting lineup, inserting Andris Biedrins in place of struggling Al Harrington to change the Mavericks' matchups.
Harrington started the Warriors' final 42 regular-season games and both playoff games in Dallas after arriving in a trade with Indiana, but Biedrins had 10 points and 10 rebounds in Game 3.
Nowitzki, who struggled for long stretches of the first two games, scored the Mavericks' first eight points, but Golden State jumped to an 11-point lead late in the first quarter on Richardson's first 3-pointer, inciting the crowd to deafening noise.
The Warriors controlled the tempo and the Mavericks missed open shots while Golden State took a 61-48 halftime lead. Davis was brilliant in scoring Golden State's final basket -- rolling off Biedrins' pick and herding Nowitzki into the paint before banging home a layup and drawing Nowitzki's third foul with 3 seconds to go.
The Mavs' frustration bubbled over in the third quarter, with Howard, Stackhouse and Devin Harris all picking up technical fouls.
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