Klay Thompson’s second return trip to the Chase Center was just as exciting as the first, just in a very different way.
The Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks set a new NBA record in their wild high-scoring battle in San Francisco on Sunday night. The two teams combined for a ridiculous 48 made three-pointers that night, the most in a single game in the history of the league.
The Warriors were responsible for 27 of those shots from behind the arc, including 18 in the first half. That marked a new franchise record in a year and a half and also equaled a league record. That’s only happened five times in NBA history, most recently in March. The Mavericks also had 12 three-pointers in the first half. The combined 30 made three-pointers also tied a league record.
But despite the Warriors’ fierce shooting — they shot 50% from behind the arc as a group — it wasn’t enough to get past Luka Dončić and the Mavericks. Dončić had a triple-double in the third quarter of the game as he led Dallas to a 143–133 win. He finished with a season-high 45 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds. It was his ninth 40-point triple-double, the fourth most in NBA history. It was also his third triple-double in the last four games.
Thompson, who joined the Mavericks in free agency last season after spending his first 11 seasons in the league with the Warriors, recorded a season-high 29 points on seven 3-pointers. Kyrie Irving also added 21 points and eight assists for Dallas.
The Mavericks led all the way Sunday night, making 14 of their first 19 shots.
“The problem was Luka Dončić. That was the problem,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said: . “I think they made their first nine shots, I think he made three and had three more assists. So he was incredible. Give him credit, give Dallas credit. They have a great team… We tried a lot of different things.”
Andrew Wiggins led the Warriors with 29 points in the loss, dropping them to 14-11 on the year. Stephen Curry had 26 points and 10 assists. He also made seven three-pointers. Draymond Green added 21 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Golden State’s 27 made three-pointers are the most any team has ever made and lost in a game.
The Warriors have lost eight of their last 10 games. They will take on the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday. Dončić and the Mavericks host the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.
