The NBA Western Conference playoffs continued Friday at the Chase Center in San Francisco with Game 2 between the Warriors vs Mavericks. The Mavericks won 126-117 to take a 2-0 series lead against the Mavericks.
Jason Kidd, the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, bemoaned his team’s third-quarter performance in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors on Friday night.

Kidd was particularly critical of the Mavs’ shot selection in the third quarter, telling reporters: “When you go 2-for-13 and rely on the three, the three can kill you. We also perished in the third quarter after shooting that many threes but only getting two.”

According to Kidd, the Mavericks led by 14 points at halftime, but the Warriors outscored them 25-13 in the third quarter, setting the stage for Golden State’s comeback victory.
The Warriors now lead the series 2-0 and have the Warriors vs Mavericks on the ropes as it moves to Dallas.

While the three-ball helped Dallas create a huge lead in the first half, it disappeared in the second half, allowing Golden State to climb back into the game.

Overall, the Mavericks shot 46.7 percent from beyond the arc, making 21 of 45 attempts. According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, ESPN Stats & Info discovered that the team’s 21 made trifectas matched for third most in the league.

Dallas shot the ball so efficiently from long range in the end despite going 2-for-13 in the third quarter, demonstrating how lethal they were in the first half.

During the game, four of the Mavs’ five starters each made three or more three-point field goals and shot 50 percent or higher from deep.

Luka Doncic, Jalen Brunson, Reggie Bullock, and Dorian Finney-Smith shot 19-of-33 from beyond the arc.

Dallas’ problem was that its bench players combined to score only two of their 12 long-range efforts.

Golden State is famed for its three-point shooting, and while it only tried 28 threes throughout the game, it was quite efficient.

Stephen Curry led the way for the Warriors with 32 points, including six trifectas on ten tries, but centre Kevon Looney was the game’s surprise star, scoring 21 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the paint.

The Mavericks squandered a fantastic performance from Doncic, who had a game-high 42 points, eight assists, five rebounds, and three steals.

After the game, Doncic seems to agree with Kidd’s assessment, emphasising the necessity of attacking the basket rather than settling for threes: “We weren’t hitting the paint too much.” But, like they did, we needed to attack the paint more.

They were very aggressive with the paint. They still assault the paint despite having two of the finest shooters in the world. As a result, I believe we must rely less on the three.”

Luka did a lot of his damage from the charity stripe, making 13 of 15 free throws and emphasising the significance of getting in the paint.

Given that reality, as well as Kidd’s dissatisfaction with how Game 2 ended in the third quarter, the Mavs may have a whole different game plan for Game 3 on Sunday.