Luka Doncic vs. Andrew Wiggins, Warriors’ wings key to win against Mavericks – NBC Sports Bay Area and California

Luka Doncic vs. Andrew Wiggins, Warriors’ wings key to win against Mavericks – NBC Sports Bay Area and California

SAN FRANCISCO – The Dallas Mavericks face the Warriors on Sunday at Chase Center, marking the second time this season that Klay Thompson will face his former teammates.

That also means Kyrie Irving, who broke Golden State hearts with his game-winning shot in the 2016 NBA Finals, is out to ruin the Warriors.

Neither Thompson nor Irving are the Warriors’ top priority. This award belongs to the 1.80 meter tall, 110 kilogram point guard Luka Dončić. Containing him is the key to defeating Dallas.

The Mavericks had won seven straight games before facing the defensive juggernaut Oklahoma City Thunder, whose collection of athletic wings is the perfect antidote to Dončić’s – and by extension the Mavericks’ – slowdown.

The Warriors don’t have the same length and quality in their wing collection, but they do have Jonathan Kuminga, Gary Payton II, Kyle Anderson and hopefully Andrew Wiggins.

Wiggins practiced Saturday but was listed as questionable on the early afternoon injury report because of right adductor strain. If he is cleared before the 5:30 tipoff, the Warriors will have an appropriate response to Dončić. If not, Golden State needs a hero.

Since returning to the Dallas lineup after missing five games with a sprained right wrist, Dončić is averaging 28 points per game on 47.9 percent shooting from the field, including 40 percent from distance.

Dončić averaged 31 points per game on 50.6/42.9 splits before the Thunder held him to 16 points on 5 of 15 shooting while forcing six turnovers to end the Mavericks’ seven-game winning streak.

Wiggins’ status is likely to be crucial. In Golden State’s first meeting with Dallas on November 12 at Chase Center, its defense against Dončić in the fourth quarter was crucial in a 120-117 victory. Luka scored 31 points on 24 shots in three quarters, but went scoreless in 12 minutes and committed two turnovers in the fourth quarter.

“Wiggs was great,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the win. “I just think there has to be a cumulative effect on Luka. You can’t stop him; he gets to so many shots. You just have to try to make it difficult.”

Wiggins, whose work on Dončić in the 2022 Western Conference Finals was crucial to Golden State’s championship run, does that about as well as anyone in the NBA.

The Warriors need to keep Irving and Thompson in check. But their main job, whether it’s Wiggins or the Anderson-Kuminga-Payton trio, is to prevent Dončić from controlling events.

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