Warriors Star Explains Keys To Victory In Game 1 Against Mavericks

The Golden State Warriors imposed their will over the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals with a 112-87 victory in Game 1 on Wednesday, May 18, and Draymond Green was more than happy to talk about it.

Following the game, the Warriors’ vocal leader made an appearance on the "Inside the NBA" set in front of Chase Center where he spoke with the panel of Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley plus Dwyane Wade.

Johnson took the privilege of first crack at picking Green’s mind about their game plan.

“We wanted to make it tough on them on the defensive end and not foul. I think if you can defend without fouling, we can get out in transition. When you do that, everything will come out in the wash and I think we did a pretty good job offensively,” Green said.

The Warriors’ defense certainly was up to par in Game 1 after stifling Mavericks star Luka Doncic to just 18 points at the half and ended the game with 20 after making one of his three field-goal attempts in the third frame.

Doncic did not have much help in the opening game of the series as Jalen Brunson only had 14 points on 37.5% shooting, with Spencer Dinwiddie being the next best performer with 17 points and not much else on the box score.

On the other hand, the entire starting five of the Warriors were in double digits, with Stephen Curry tallying 21 points at a decent shooting clip and Andrew Wiggins pitching in 19 points of his own.

Shooting woes plagued the Mavericks in Game 1 as they only made 36% of their field-goal attempts and had a disappointing 11-of-48 outing from beyond the three-point arc.

Shutting down shooters like Davis Bertans, Reggie Bullock and Maxi Kleber was the Warriors’ primary point on defense as was told by Green to Smith.

"Everybody they put on the floor can shoot the basketball. When you have a guy like Luka Doncic, who you have to help on because one guy can’t stop him, and then you have shooters like that. Everyone has to be engaged. You have to be engaged in the rotations. You can’t mess up on help,” Green shared.

This is something that Green, serving as the equivalent of a middle linebacker in the NFL, pointed out because any of the Mavericks mentioned above can come alive from deep and cause massive problems for the Warriors.

Green also expects the Mavericks to come out frustrated and play with more energy going into Game 2 after being forced to eat a 25-point loss.

“I think we got to come out and take that first punch. They’re going to come out mad and be embarrassed so if we come out and play into that they get the offense going and gain confidence. It’s important that take care of the ball then we set our defense,” Green told O’Neal.

Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals is set to happen on Friday, May 20 still at the Warriors’ home floor.