Warriors tonight: 10 Things about the Mavericks matchup
Channel: the flash
Date: 21/03/2017

1. THE BASICS
Tipoff: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at American Airlines Center. TV: CSN Bay Area. Radio: KGMZ 95.7 “The Game” in Oakland and San Francisco, KRTY 95.3 in San Jose, KION 1460 and 101.1 in Salinas and Monterey.
2. THE RECORDS
Warriors: 56-14, No. 1 in the Western Conference, 2½ games ahead of No. 2 San Antonio. The Spurs’ next game is at Minnesota tonight.
Mavericks: 30-39, No. 10 in the Western Conference, 2½ games behind No. 8 Denver.
3. WHAT HAVE THEY DONE LATELY?
Warriors: Completed a 4-0 season sweep of Oklahoma City with a 111-95 victory Monday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Klay Thompson scored 34 points and combined with Stephen Curry to make 14 of 27 3-point attempts. Golden State took command in the second quarter when the second unit cranked up the defense. The Warriors outscored the Thunder 34-17 in the period and took a 59-39 halftime lead when Curry hit a long, wide-open 3-pointer at the buzzer after Golden State controlled a jump ball in Oklahoma City’s frontcourt with 5.3 seconds left.
Mavericks: Defeated Brooklyn 111-104 on the road Sunday. Dirk Nowitzki had 23 points and nine rebounds in 27 minutes as Dallas won for the eighth time in 12 games. After a horrendous 6-20 start, the Mavericks have hauled themselves up from the bottom of the Western Conference standings. They are 24-19 since to pull within striking distance of a playoff spot.
4. PREVIOUS MEETINGS
The Warriors lead the season series 2-0, winning twice at Oracle Arena. … On Nov. 9, Thompson scored 18 of his 20 points in the first quarter of a 116-95 triumph over the undermanned Mavericks. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle, already missing Nowitzki and Deron Williams because of injuries, rested Andrew Bogut, Wesley Matthews and J.J. Barea. Four Warriors — Thompson, Curry, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green — each hit four 3-pointers. Durant had 28 points and 10 rebounds. … On Dec. 30, Durant had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in Golden State’s 108-99 victory. That was Durant’s first triple-double as a Warrior. Thompson helped put that game away by scoring 17 of his 29 points in the third quarter as the Warriors took a 91-69 lead into the fourth quarter.
5. MATCHUP TO WATCH
Stephen Curry vs. Seth Curry: It will be brother against brother for extended periods now that Seth is starting for the Mavericks. In 37 games as a starter, Seth is averaging 14.7 points and shooting 48.0 percent from the field and 43.2 percent from 3-point distance. Since the All-Star break his numbers are 16.8 points, 52.0 percent from the field and 45.7 percent from 3-point distance. Steph since All-Star break is scoring more (26.3 points) but not shooting as well (43.7 percent from the field, 33.9 percent from 3-point distance) as Seth. Steph has made a league-leading 269 3-pointers, more than double Seth’s 126. But the Curry who is tied for fifth in the league in 3-point accuracy at 42.4 percent is Seth, not Steph.
6. LOCAL CONNECTIONS
Former Warriors forward Harrison Barnes is averaging a career-high 19.8 points while shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 85.4 from the line. … Former Stanford star Dwight Powell is averaging 12.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in two games against the Warriors this year, including his lone start.
7. McGEE’S RESURGENCE
After a sluggish stretch, JaVale McGee looks re-energized in the past two games. On Monday against the Thunder, McGee had 10 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots in 13 minutes. In the previous game against Milwaukee, he had eight points and four rebounds in 12 minutes. In those two games he shot 9 for 11 from the field (81.8 percent).
8. FIRST LOOK
Dallas’ Yogi Ferrell, the NBA’s Rookie of the Month for February, will face the Warriors for the first time. The point guard from Indiana went undrafted last June, signed with Brooklyn and was cut after playing in only 10 games. He went to Long Island of the D-League and while considering an opportunity to play in Russia, the Mavericks offered him a 10-day contract in late January when they were running short on point guards. The signing immediately paid off as Ferrell helped Dallas to four wins during that contract period, including a 32-point game against Portland in which he tied an NBA rookie record with nine 3-pointers. The Mavericks saw enough and signed Ferrell to a two-year contract. He is averaging 11.6 points and 4.6 assists in 23 games with Dallas, which is 14-9 since acquiring him.
9. HISTORIC MILESTONE
Nowitzki became the sixth player in NBA history to reach the 30,000-point milestone earlier this month against the Los Angeles Lakers. He is the first foreign-born player to score 30,000 and the third to score that many points for one franchise, joining Kobe Bryant (all 33,634 for the Lakers) and Karl Malone (36,374 of his 36,928 with Utah). Over his past eight games, Nowitzki is averaging 18.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and shooting 53.1 percent from the field and 47.2 percent (17 of 36) on 3-pointers.