Dallas Gets Its Revenge On Listless Warriors
With the Warriors starting the night, from the outside looking in on the Western Conference playoff race, and facing a familiar nemesis in Dallas, one would have expected a titantic effort from the Dubs. Sadly for fans of GSW, the team played flat and was outhustled all night long by a Dallas squad revitalized by the surprise appearance of injured star, Dirk Nowitzki. While not exactly a Willis Reed-moment, the reigning MVP was good for 18 points in 27 minutes and seem to get his team fired up for the challenge that was expected by the Warriors. Jason Kidd directed the attack with 17 assists and led numerous fast breaks for easy points. The end was a result was 111-86 Dallas win that never saw Golden State competitive.
Perhaps most disturbing was the second straight poor effort by Stephen Jackson, who scored 2 points on a 1 of 11 shooting night, and Al Harrington managing only 6 points in a 1 for 9 performance. Outside of the 47 combined points by Monta Ellis and Baron Davis, the Warriors had almost no life at all on the floor. Being outrebounded 56-38 did not help either.
Now, the Warrior find themselves a full game back of the #8 seed Denver, and on the wrong end of tiebreakers with both of their closest competitors. With 7 games remaining, the Warriors almost have to run the table to assure themselves of being included in the postseason. One can only hope that they can summon some of the resiliency they have showed for the majority of the season when they take the court on Friday in Memphis against the Grizzlies.
|