DALLAS -- Stephen Curry and Clay Thompson combined to score just 32 points for the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night at American Airlines Center, but the Warriors didn't even need the offensive firepower of the Splash Brothers to beat the Dallas Mavericks 123-110.
Golden State (63-13), who clinched home-court advantage throughout the NBA Playoffs with the victory, was led by Thompson's 21 points (7-of-17 FG, 5-of-10 3-point) but Curry was just 4-of-12 from the field and 1-for-4 from long range.
But thanks to a 65-point performance from their second unit, the Warriors led wire-to-wire, getting first-year head coach Steve Kerr his 63rd win, a record for a first-year head coach in the Association.
"I wasn't really thinking about the significance of the record," a soaked Kerr said postgame outside the Warriors locker room. "They presented me the ball. How lucky am I to coach these guys in my first year? Ridiculous."
Dallas (46-31), who lost its second straight, was led offensively by Dirk Nowitzki who finished with 18 points, 15 of which came from the foul line. The Mavs were without Chandler Parsons due to right knee soreness, an injury sustained in a loss to the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.
Golden State raced to an early 12-3 lead but led by only two, 26-24, after the first quarter. The Warriors led by 11 at the break, 59-48.
The Mavs got as close as eight in the third quarter, trailing 77-69 when Monta Ellis scored on a driving layup with 3:26 remaining, but that was the last time Dallas would trail by single digits the rest of the way.
That third stanza also featured some drama as Warriors guard Shaun Livingston caught Nowitzki with a hand to the groin with 1:28 remaining, earning a flagrant one call while simultaneously drawing the ire of an already disgruntled capacity crowd witnessing a rather big blowout.
After the final whistle, Livingston apologized to Mavs owner Mark Cuban. Despite that gesture, it was a play that Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle didn't like one bit.
"I didn't see the play, so I can't really (comment). But if they called a flagrant foul on it, then there had to be something there. You don't want to see stuff like that, especially on guys like Dirk," Carlisle said. "It's not appropriate. It's just not right."
Naturally, Kerr took up for Livingston postgame.
"Shaun is anything but a dirty player, so I believe Shaun when he says he wasn't attempting to make a dirty play out there," Kerr said.
Livingston reiterated that stance in the locker room.
"It was just bad timing. Eleven years in the league, I haven't had a dirty play," Livingston said. "I haven't made a name in this league by playing that way. It looked worse than it actually was."
That third quarter also proved fateful for the Mavs for another reason as starting point guard Rajon Rondo was lost for the rest of the game with a hyperextended knee.
"I don't know yet," Carlisle said when asked for an update on Rondo. "We don't think it's serious, but he hyperextended it. We'll see how he's doing tomorrow (Sunday) and Monday and go from there."
Dallas concludes its three-game homestand on Wednesday night against the Phoenix Suns, which makes these next two practice days for Carlisle and company crucial to put it mildly.
"Our two days of practice leading into the Phoenix game are going to be very important for playoff preparation, for preparing for another game that is a playoff-style game with them, with Phoenix because they're very physical and they're a team we've had problems with all year," Carlisle said. "Right now, we've really got to work on getting ourselves playing better."
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