3 Takeaways From Mavericks' Shootout Win Over Warriors

The shot-making between these two teams was absurd

Dec 15, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) greet each other after the game at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks beat the Golden State Warriors in a 143-133 offensive shootout, avenging one of their losses from earlier in the season. Dallas roared out to a big lead almost immediately and led nearly the entire game, led by a massive triple-double from Luka Doncic. The Warriors closed the gap to one possession a few times, but they could never get over the hump.

Klay Thompson had his best game as a Maverick, scoring a season-high 29 points, though he was upset he missed a free throw for 30 points. But he was thrilled to get his first victory over his former team.

Here are three takeaways from Sunday's win.

READ MORE: P.J. Washington Mocks Steph Curry's Celebration After Mavericks' Win Over Warriors

1. Luka Doncic's Bounce-Back Performance

Luka Doncic had one of the worst games of his career on Tuesday night in the NBA Cup Quarterfinals loss to the OKC Thunder, putting up just 16 points, 14 of them coming in the fourth quarter to make his stats look respectable. After a few days of rest, he followed that up with one of his best: 45 points, 13 assists, 11 rebounds, three steals, and two blocks while shooting 16/23 from the floor. It's unrealistic to expect performances like these, but this was a big game to re-establish his confidence after Tuesday's loss.

2. Klay Thompson's Revenge

Klay Thompson felt slighted by the Warriors with how they handled contract negotiations over the last few years leading up to this past offseason. That led to him departing from the only franchise he'd ever known and signing with the Mavericks. While he's had some poor performances here and there, he's had two of his best against the Warriors, capped off by this 29-point outburst, hitting seven of his eleven three-point attempts. His jubilee could be felt in his postgame interview on MavsTV and it had to be big for him to get this win.

3. ABSURD Shot-Making

As a basketball fan, I'm not sure I've ever shaken my head and laughed in disbelief more than watching this game. I can only compare it to the Kansas City Chiefs-LA Rams game in 2018. Between the shot-making of Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving, Andrew Wiggins, and Dereck Lively's and Jonathan Kuminga's powerful dunks, this game truly had it all. The two teams combined for 48 three-pointers, the most made threes in NBA history. And it rarely felt like any of the threes were forced. It was a lot of great ball movement (and some bad defense) leading to a lot of open threes.

READ MORE: Mavericks' Klay Thompson Reacts to First Win Over Golden State Warriors

Stick with MavericksGameday for more FREE coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the 2024-25 Season

Follow MavericksGameday on Twitter and Austin Veazey on Twitter

More Dallas Mavericks News

• Luka Doncic Puts Up 45-Point Triple-Double, Mavericks Sink Warriors, 143-133

• Jimmy Butler ‘Open’ to Joining Mavericks in Potential Trade

• Dirk Nowitzki Being Considered for Amazon's New NBA Color Analyst

• Veteran's Latest Injury Proves Mavericks Should Move On