Luka Doncic leads the way as Mavs shut down Steph, keep series alive

Dallas is keeping its hopes of a 75-year NBA-first alive after Luka Doncic spoiled Golden State’s clean sweep attempt in the playoffs.

Luka Doncic is keeping the faith. Tom Pennington/Getty Images/AFP

Luka Doncic scored 30 points as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Golden State Warriors 119-109 to keep their NBA Western Conference finals series alive on Wednesday.

The Mavericks, needing a victory to avoid a clean sweep, delivered a revived offensive performance to ensure a game five in San Francisco on Friday.

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No team in the 75-year history of the NBA has ever come back from 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven playoff series.

But after Wednesday’s performance, the Mavericks have at least a lifeline to cling to as the series heads back to California with the Warriors needing just one win from three remaining games to advance to the NBA Finals.

Doncic, who has carried the scoring burden for Dallas in the three previous games, finally received scoring support from his teammates.

Six Dallas players finished in double figures, with Dorian Finney-Smith adding 23 points and Reggie Bullock 18.

Jalen Brunson added 15 while Maxi Kleber contributing 13 and Spencer Dinwiddie 10.

Doncic praised the defensive performance of his teammates after a display which restricted Golden State’s leading scorer — Stephen Curry — to just 20 points.

“Our defence was amazing today,” said Doncic, who finished with 14 rebounds and nine assists. “That’s how we’ve got to play, when we play like this we’re a dangerous team.”

Asked if he felt the Mavs could still salvage a series victory, Doncic replied: “You never know. We’re going to stick together. It’s going to be tough, we know that but we have to stay together.”

Luka Doncic led the way for Dallas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

After being outplayed in the first three games by the six-time NBA champions, Dallas came out with a renewed sense of purpose at the American Airlines Centre.

The Mavs led by 15 points at half-time after cutting loose midway through the second quarter with a 19-2 run that propelled them into a double-digit lead.

Golden State struggled to make inroads into that deficit and were successful on only three of 16 attempts from three-point range.

The Mavs by contrast drained 11-of-23 from beyond the arc in the first half, a statistic that helped them into a 62-47 halftime lead.

The start of the second half was delayed by around 20 minutes after what appeared to be a leak from the arena roof allowed puddles of water to gather at one end of the court.

But any idea that the delay would allow the Warriors to regroup quickly evaporated as the Mavericks continued to rain in buckets, outscoring Golden State 37-23.

That left Dallas 99-70 in front heading into the fourth quarter, with Dallas seemingly cruising to victory.

The Mavs were given a scare in the final minutes of the game as the Warriors bench players suddenly trimmed the lead to just eight points.

But Doncic reasserted control and a Bullock three-pointer put Dallas 13 points clear again to secure the win.

Originally published as Luka Doncic leads the way as Mavs shut down Steph, keep series alive