SAN FRANCISCO – On one end of the court was Steph Curry, going through his famed pregame shooting routine with longtime coach Bruce Fraser at Chase Center on Thursday.
On the other was his onetime Splash Brother Klay Thompson, wearing green Dallas Mavericks attire. One after another, both baskets were peppered with swishes by an all-time great shooter.
But while both looked primed to duke it out in a classic Christmas Day duel, it was the role players, the unheralded collective, who propelled the Warriors to an 126-116 victory in a game where Curry still surpassed the 26,000-point milestone.
No sequence illustrated that strength in numbers ethos quite like the track meet the Warriors put on in the second quarter, when the team ran off six quick fast-break points.
Brandin Podziemski’s perfect lob pass to Moses Moody led to the first two points, and on the very next possession, Jimmy Butler threw a sky-high lob to Trayce Jackson-Davis for a dunk that woke up a sleepy Chase Center Christmas crowd.
Curry, even though he did not have a signature 40-ball, loved it all as he got to grace the Christmas Day stage for the 13th time in his career.
“They’re special because only 10 teams get this opportunity, and especially to play at home, it’s a great honor,” Curry said. “I don’t ever take it for granted, and it is a different energy all around the arena.”
The stat sheet saw the Warriors get 13 from Podziemski, 12 points from Moody and 64 total points from the bench. Curry finished with 23 points, De’Anthony Melton had 16 and Jimmy Butler scored 14. While he did not score much, Gary Payton II had perhaps the highlight of the night when he used both hands to swat away Cooper Flagg’s shot in the fourth quarter.
Flagg, the Mavericks’ 19-year-old rookie sensation, finished with 27 points and shifty guard Brandon Williams — one of Melton’s high school teammates at Crespi-Encino — scored 24 points for Dallas.
It was not just the young players who gave the Warriors a boost. Al Horford made his return after missing the past seven games with sciatica and immediately began bombing shots from behind the arc. Playing in his eighth Christmas Day game, the 39-year-old went a perfect 4 of 4 in six first-quarter minutes.
Horford also grabbed four rebounds and showed he still had the ability to move his feet on perimeter switches in 11 minutes. He even ran a fast-break with Butler, hitting the wing with a perfect bounce pass.
“High IQ-type player, and then he’s just really, really, really fun to play with,” Butler said. “As long as you’re out there having fun, being joyful, moving and guarding and competing, that’s who he is and who he has always been.”
Star Dallas center Anthony Davis pulled up lame while running the fast break at 8:40 in the second quarter and left for the locker room. He did not return. On the other end, the transition attack was a boon for Golden State. Golden State led 71-58 at halftime.
Dallas, who was missing Kyrie Irving and did not have a traditional point guard, attempted to use their size to score inside buckets on straight-line drives. Helping keep the Mavericks in check was a locked-in Draymond Green.
The Warriors leader had not finished the past two games — ejected from one, benched after an argument with Steve Kerr in the other — but played without incident against the Mavericks.
“I like that, y’all yell at each other,” Butler said. “Turns me on a little bit, I’m not gonna lie. I like that. I like the confrontation.”
The Warriors led 100-89 after three quarters, and the Mavericks mounted a few charges in the fourth, getting the deficit down to 104-99 with around six minutes left. But led by Melton, Curry and Payton II, the Warriors held the Mavericks off.
The Warriors (16-15), now winners of three consecutive, will travel to Toronto next for Sunday’s matchup with the Raptors.
Klay off the bench
A sold-out Bay Area crowd rose to its feet in unison as Klay Thompson shed his warmup attire and checked into the game during the first quarter.
They then gave a loud ovation to the one-time franchise cornerstone who is now an off-the-bench gunner for the Mavericks. He scored seven points and made his first 3-pointer with 3:14 left in the third quarter, earning him cheers from a crowd that still appreciated what he’d done to help the Warriors win four NBA titles.
“I’ll never get used to seeing Klay on the other side,” Kerr said. “I miss Klay. Wish he was still here.”
Guarding Flagg
Flagg, the No. 1 pick in the draft, did not disappoint a national TV audience in his first Christmas game.
The league’s top rookie was the center of attention for the Warriors’ defense, especially after Davis left the game. Butler began the night on Flagg, as Green drew the Davis assignment at the other forward spot.
Jackson-Davis even got a few minutes on the rookie in the first quarter, before Green guarded Flagg and did a masterful job of denying him the ball at times. But Flagg, who is scoring 18 points per game, was still a handful for Golden State. He showed off a smooth jumper and raw athleticism on a third-quarter dunk over Quinten Post.
