Jason Kidd Reveals Mavericks' Mistakes In Pivotal Third Quarter To Lose Game 3

The Dallas Mavericks had many chances to try and take Game 3 away from the Golden State Warriors, but now they find themselves down a massive 0-3 hole after losing by nine points on their home floor, 109-100.

Both teams were quick to setup their offensive and defensive sets throughout much of the first half, but as the story usually goes, the Warriors took control of the game, and the series by extension, after outscoring the Mavericks 30-21 in the third quarter.

Mavericks head coach and NBA Hall of Famer Jason Kidd faced the media after the loss and gave an assessment of what his team did wrong and what the Warriors did right.

“They’re a team of runs. They went on a run and we gave up 30 points in that third [quarter]. Just understanding that you can’t give them second-chance opportunities. They’ve been here before so they understand what to do and they did it tonight,” said Kidd.

The former Mavericks point guard also credited Warriors stars Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins for giving them a tough time the entire night.

Curry was the Warriors’ best player after he dropped 31 points on an even 50% shooting night, while the pair of Wiggins and Thompson added 27 and 19 points respectively.

Wiggins, the No. 1 pick of the 2014 NBA draft, put his mark on the series after taking Mavericks star Luka Doncic head on and slammed home a dunk to put the Warriors up 93-83 in the fourth quarter.

Inside the NBA analyst and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley had a wise-cracking reaction to the dunk following the game, but the young Slovenian superstar took it all in stride.

“I mean I got hit a little bit, but that was impressive, I’m not going to lie. I saw the video again, I was like ‘oh that was pretty incredible’. I wish I had those bunnies,” Doncic told reporters in the press room.

With elimination staring them right in their face, the Mavericks face the unenviable task of climbing down from a 0-3 hole and become the first team ever in league history to win a playoff series.

For Kidd, he is more than willing to take on the challenge.

“It’s just one game. We’ll get ready for Game 4. That’s all we can focus on.”

The potential series-clinching Game 4 will take place on Tuesday, May 24 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas with the tip-off slated for 9:00 PM ET.