NBA playoffs: Curry’s Warriors bottle Dončić to draw first blood in West finals - The Guardian

Especially because Andrew Wiggins worked end to end to make sure Luka Dončić couldn’t get going.

Curry had 21 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, Golden State held Dončić in check and the Warriors beat the Mavericks 112-87 on Wednesday night for a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Dončić scored 20 points but shot just 6 for 18 and 3 of 10 from deep.

Jalen Brunson scored 14 points but missed all five of his threes for the surprising Mavs, who stunned the top-seeded Suns in a 123-90 thumping in Game 7 on Sunday in Phoenix.

The Warriors reached five straight NBA finals from 2015-19 but missed the playoffs the past two years before this run.

Wiggins added 19 points, getting Golden State going by making six of his first eight shots on the way to shooting 8 for 17.

Stopping Dončić, who was averaging 31.5 points in the playoffs, is the tall task this time after the Warriors already handled two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic of Denver in the first round, then Ja Morant early last series before his knee injury.

I missed being out there with the guys,” Kerr said

Looney finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists after coming in to start the Game 6 clincher against the Grizzlies

“We would like to play our pace but the Warriors have a unique pace, they’re going to get out and put a lot of pressure on your defense in transition,” Kidd said