Klay Thompson’s second return trip to the Chase Center was just as electric as the first, just in a very different way.
The Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks set a new NBA record on Sunday night in their wild high-scoring battle in San Francisco. The two teams combined for a ridiculous 48 made 3-pointers on the night, which is the most made in a single game in league history.
The Warriors accounted for 27 of those shots from behind the arc, 18 of which came in the first half. That marked a new franchise record in a half and matched a league record, too. That’s happened just five other times in NBA history, most recently in March. The Mavericks also had 12 made 3-pointers in the first half. The combined 30 made 3-pointers tied a league record, too.
But despite the Warriors’ hot shooting — they finished shooting 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 contest while leading Dallas to the 143-133 win. He finished with a season-high 45 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds. It marked his ninth 40-point triple-double, which is 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 this past offseason after spending his first 11 seasons in the league with the Warriors, put up a season-high 29 points on seven 3-pointers. Kyrie Irving added 21 points and eight assists for Dallas, too.
The Mavericks led the entire way on Sunday night, and they made 14 of their first 19 shots.
“The issue was Luka Dončić. That was the issue,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, . “I think they made their first nine shots, I think he made three of them and had three more assists. So he was incredible. Give him credit, give Dallas credit. They’ve got a hell of a team … We tried a lot of different things.”
Andrew Wiggins led the Warriors with 29 points in the loss, which dropped them to 14-11 on the year. Stephen Curry had 26 points and 10 assists. He made seven 3-pointers, too. Draymond Green added 21 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Golden State’s 27-made 3-pointers are the most a team has ever made in a game and lost.
The Warriors have lost eight of their last 10 games. They’ll take on the Memphis Grizzlies next on Thursday. Dončić and the Mavericks will host the Los Angeles Clippers next on Thursday.