Likely our best stretch of the season, says Kerr

DALLAS • The Golden State Warriors are one win away from another trip to the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals.

They are doing it as a team. And Luka Doncic has not been able to do anything about it.

The Dallas Mavericks star had his second straight 40-point game on Sunday night, but the Warriors countered with quality efforts from several players.

Stephen Curry had a team-high 31 points, while Andrew Wiggins scored a play-off career-high 27 in a 109-100 victory that gave them a 3-0 advantage in the Western Conference finals.

The pair wrapped up double-doubles with 11 assists and rebounds respectively. Klay Thompson chipped in with 19 points as the Warriors moved within a win of closing out the best-of-seven series and claiming a spot in the NBA Finals for the sixth time in the last eight seasons.

No team in the NBA's 75-year history have overturned a 3-0 series deficit in the play-offs and Golden State sense blood.

"This is what it's about. This is the best time of the year," Warriors coach Steve Kerr gushed afterwards. "To be involved in it again is special. We've missed this the last couple of years. This is probably our best stretch of the season. We've got a lot of guys playing at a high level right now."

Seeking to rebound from a pair of losses in San Francisco, the Mavs had three players who performed at a high level, led by Doncic, who had a game-high 40 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.

Spencer Dinwiddie added 26 points off the bench, while Jalen Brunson went for 20.

But the other six Mavs players who were in action combined for just 14 points on five-for-27 shooting, much to Jason Kidd's chagrin.

"When you look at the three guys who scored, that's just not enough against the Warriors," the Dallas coach assessed. "We need more guys to contribute."

"Eighteen second-chance points - it just puts you in a bad situation. I've said this before: We're going to live and die by the three(-pointer). But we're dying by not getting the rebounds and giving them second-chance opportunities."

The Mavs came back from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to eliminate the top-seeded Phoenix Suns in the second round, but this series appears to be a step too far against vastly experienced opponents.

Unlike the Warriors, this is the furthest they have advanced in the post-season since their 2011 NBA Finals championship run. Golden State, who won a road game for an NBA-record 26th consecutive play-off series, intend to finish off the Mavs in Dallas today.

REUTERS

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