In the 2022 Western Conference Finals, the #4 seed – the Dallas Mavericks took on the #3 seed – the Golden State Warriors.
To see their respective journeys to the Western Conference Finals, be sure to check out our NBA Playoffs betting review but here we will break down the individual games in the series and point out any interesting facts or stats we find along the way.
GAME 1
The 1st quarter of Game 1 was pretty tight for about 10 minutes. The teams went back and forth in scoring and were DM 18-22 GSW with 2.5 mins remaining.
The Warriors put their shooting boots on a little at the end and the quarter ended 18-28
If Dallas hadn’t gone almost 4 minutes without scoring across the end of the 1st and start of the 2nd then it would have been a very even period.
As it was, they held their own for most of the 2nd quarter too and came tantalisingly close to levelling the game at 35-38 with 4.5 mins of the half remaining. They went into half time trailing by 9 points and the game was still anybody’s.
That was the last time they had any glimmer of hope in this first matchup and the Warriors pulled away from them consistently after half time.
GSW added 10 more points than Dallas did in the 3rd quarter, to go 69-88 into the final period. They won that by 6 points too after Dallas hit a catastrophic 4.5 minute period with zero points, by the end of which they were 26 points behind. The game simply moved further and further away from them even with 18 individual points from Dončić.
This was a game that Dallas led for a grand total of 32 seconds.
They were never 7 GSW players hit double-figures for points-scored vs just 4 for Dallas.
It was really a case of “Welcome to the Stephen Curry show” as he was points, rebounds, and assists leader for the game.
Most consecutive points:
Dallas Mavericks: 11
Golden State Warriors: 12
Longest scoring drought:
DM: 4 mins 28
GSW: 3 mins 17
FINAL SCORE: DM 87-112 GSW
1-0 Golden State Warriors
GAME 2
Game 2 started in a much better way for the Mavericks. They took the lead early and capiltalized on a sluggish start from the Warriors. Dallas found themselves 16 points ahead with 5 minutes left in Q1 but failed to press the advantage. 3.5 mins without scoring allowed the Warriors to compose themselves and pull the gap back to just 3 points. The quarter ended 35-25 to Dallas.
The scoring did not close up at this point, however. Dallas scored consistently and Brunson alone added 12 to put them 18 points ahead with 4.5 minutes left in the Q2. GSW rallied a little and the gap was down to 14 at halftime: 72-58
Although Golden State did not make the absolute most of the lull, Dallas had a nightmare start to the second half. With exactly 4 minutes remaining they had added only 7 points to their tally. They were somewhat lucky that GSW only added 15 in that same period but the tide was turning…
85-83
18 seconds into the 4th and Golden State took the lead for the first time in the game.
They would pull back to tie twice, but Dallas would not see the lead again. The Mavericks added 32 points in Q4, 14 of them coming from Dončić but it was not to be enough. The Warriors turned up the temperature and added a sensational 43 points in the same period.
In spite of a superb 42-point, 8-assists game from Luka Dončić, Dallas were unable to surpass the combined scoring might of the Warriors and only 4 players made double-figures vs 6 for Golden State.
Kevon Looney collected 12 rebounds. That’s 1 in every 4 that were available throughout the entire game. He also scored 21 points and didn’t turn the ball over once.
Dallas must have been left frustratedly wondering how they let this one get away from them.
Most consecutive points:
Dallas Mavericks: 13
Golden State Warriors: 13
Longest scoring drought:
DM: 3 mins 46
GSW: 2 mins 42
FINAL SCORE: DM 117-126 GSW
2-0 Golden State Warriors
GAME 3
Game 3 was tight and Dallas pulled back a 10-point deficit with 5 minutes of the 1st quarter remaining to finish only 3 behind at 22-25.
The lead changed hands 3 times in the first 2 minutes of Q2 and took a 9-point lead.
The Warriors caught fire with 4 minutes left in the quarter and actually took back the lead for 48-47 at half time.
Both teams scored reasonably well until the dreaded drought-periods struck. GSW were the first offenders with 2.5 barren minutes but then Dallas outdid them and went 3 seconds shy of 4 minutes without scoring. It broke them, and from being just 3 points behind, they were never within 6 points of the lead in the match again. And then only very briefly.
The 3rd quarter ended 78-68
Q4 saw GSW add 29 points and the Mavericks add 32. The scoring ebbed and flowed but the damage had already been done in Q3 and Dallas simply could not get enough momentum to regain the lead.
Again Luka Dončić was leading scorer with an outstanding 40 points. Looney was crucial again with 12 rebounds and Stephen Curry led the assists with 11.
Most consecutive points:
Dallas Mavericks: 10
Golden State Warriors: 9
Longest scoring drought:
DM: 3 mins 57
GSW: 3 mins 39
FINAL SCORE: GSW 109-100 DM
3-0 Golden State Warriors
GAME 4
The Dallas Mavericks had no choice but to go all out to avoid the whitewash in Game 4 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
And that’s what they did. But, oh boy did they give their fans some tough moments to endure towards the end. More of that later.
Q1 went back and forth right through. Scores were tied at 6 apiece, then 16, then 19. It ended 24-28 to Dallas and the game looked like being a close encounter.
Q2 saw Dallas pull away from the Warriors. When GSW added only 2 points in 5 minutes, the writing looked to be on the wall and the scoreline was 47-62 at half time.
23-35 for the quarter left things looking bleak for the Golden State Warriors: 70-99
The Mavericks chose the worst possible time to go scoreless in the game and did not advance their score for over 4 minutes across the end of the 3rd and start of the 4th quarter.
Golden State saw their chance and added 15 points to Dallas’ 2. The Mavericks’ fans must have been clenching hard as the gap closed to just 10 points.
The Warriors outscored the Mavericks in Q4 by 39 points to 20! Almost unbelievable.
The sensational Luka Dončić was points, rebounds, and assists leader. Without him, Dallas would almost certainly have thrown this game away and been annihilated 4-0 in the series. As it was, they clung on for dear life at the end and took the game by 10 points. Down from the 29-point lead they had just 12 minutes earlier…
Most consecutive points:
Dallas Mavericks: 10
Golden State Warriors: 9
Longest scoring drought:
DM: 4 mins 05
GSW: 3 mins 06
FINAL SCORE: GSW 109-119 DM
3-1 Golden State Warriors
GAME 5
A significant scoreless period for GSW in Q1 allowed Dallas to stay with them and only trail by 5 points after 12 minutes.
The Warriors led 23-28 after 12 minutes.
Q2 was a role reversal of sorts and Dallas failed to score for significant periods, adding only 6 points in 6 minutes at one point. Golden State fared somewhat better and added 20 points in the same period!
They led 52-69 going into halftime
The Mavericks had a golden opportunity to pull back some distance as GSW failed to score for 2 minutes across the end of Q2 and the start of Q3 but they only added 1 point in 3 minutes themselves and any chance was gone. In fact, with 5:40 remaining in Q3 they found themselves as far away from their opponents as they would be in the whole game at 25 points behind.
Right as the gap looked to be an unassailable one, the Mavericks staged a kind of revival. Dončić took 7 of 15 points in a 3 minute 49 second barren period for the Warriors that suddenly saw the gap reduced back to only 8 points!
The scoreline read 84-94 to GSW at the end of Q3 and the unlikely chance of a comeback must have dared to tickle the minds of desperate Dallas fans.
BUT IT WAS NOT TO BE
Scoring went back and forth in the final quarter and neither side could put their stamp on this period. It even went for a full 2.5 minutes without either team scoring with just over 6 minutes left on the clock!
It was a quiet scoring night for Curry with only 15 points, but he was joint assists-leader with 9. His teammates Kevon Looney, with an incredible 18 rebounds, and Klay Thompson as scoring leader with 32 individual points drove the Warriors’ scoring machine inexorably forwards.
Dallas never led. The were tied after 43 seconds and that was the closest they ever came in this game. 25 points was as bad as things got but they never embarrassed themselves, they just didn’t have what it took.
Most consecutive points:
Dallas Mavericks: 15
Golden State Warriors: 9
Longest scoring drought:
DM: 2 mins 51
GSW: 3 mins 49
FINAL SCORE: GSW 110-120 DM
Golden State Warriors win the series 4-1
So, the Golden State Warriors advanced much more easily than the team they went on to meet in the 2022 NBA Finals – read our NBA Eastern Conference betting review to see how they go on.
