Warriors blown out by Mavericks, blow chance at earning No. 6 seed

If the Warriors appreciated the playoff implications of Tuesday night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks, they didn’t play like it.

A win against the Mavericks could have earned Golden State a tie-breaker and pulled them a game closer to the Western Conference’s current No. 6 seed. Instead, they came out flat, dug a 33-point hole before halftime and lost 133-103 in disappointing fashion.

In truth, this game was over after the first quarter, when the Warriors trailed 36-12. The next 36 minutes were a formality. On offense, Golden State had as hard a time making shots (39.8% shooting overall) as it did holding onto the ball (18 turnovers). Only Stephen Curry (27 points on 9 for 18 shooting) managed to score consistently in non-garbage time.

On defense, Golden State had no answer for Mavericks star Luka Doncic — who needed just 28 minutes to tally 39 points, eight assists and six rebounds — and allowed Dallas to shoot 52.2% overall and 51.4% from 3-point range.

Entering Tuesday, the 10th-place Warriors (31-31) trailed the sixth-place Mavericks (34-27) by 2.5 games in the standings. A win would have given the Warriors the season-series edge over Dallas, moved them into a tie for ninth place and within striking distance of the No. 6 seed and the right to avoid the play-in tournament. Now the Warriors, with 10 games remaining, are a full game behind the surging Spurs.

Coaches and players knew what was at stake. Before the game, Kerr talked about how a win could set up his team for the stretch run, saying, “If we were to win tonight, I think we’d have a realistic shot at catching Dallas because we’d have the tie-breaker.”

The truth is, the chances of catching Dallas this late in the season were slim. Before the game, basketball-reference.com gave the Warriors roughly a 2% chance of ending up with the sixth seed. The bigger concern is the manner in which they lost.

Kerr’s team hasn’t practiced in a week because he believed Golden State, which had won seven of its last nine, had found a groove. But Tuesday’s effort was the team’s worst since April 2’s 53-point loss to the Toronto Raptors, and one of the worst of the Kerr era.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, the Mavericks 28-0 run that bridged the first and second quarter is tied for the second-longest scoring run by any team over the last 20 seasons, and the Warriors’ 29 points in the first half were their fewest in any half since Kerr took over as coach in 2014.

The Warriors this season have followed dramatic blowout losses with more inspired performances. Just four days after the Raptors loss, Golden State kicked off its best stretch of the season that cemented its status as a play-in team. A similar response would be enough to get the Warriors where they want to go.

The goal for these Warriors now is clear: Climb the standings enough to avoid the 9-10 game — which requires two wins to get into the playoffs — and be part of the 7-8 game, which would require only one win to earn the right to participate in a playoff series.