Let's be honest: The Warriors weren't supposed to win Wednesday night at Dallas. It would have been nice, but it surely wasn't a reasonable request.
Tied with the Mavericks and Nuggets at the beginning of the week, the Warriors looked at a remaining schedule that had nine games -- four tough, four easy and one either-way showdown that could very well determine their postseason fate. Their goal: First and foremost, beat the Nuggets in the big game April 10. Then, sweep the four cupcakes and win one or two of the tough ones.
Two tough ones later, the Warriors still have a goose egg in that category, but that's OK. A win Sunday at New Orleans or April 14 at Phoenix would result in reaching the goal.
In the time being, one of the easy wins lies immediately in the Warriors' path. They absolutely, positively have to win at Memphis on Friday. The Warriors have won three in a row against the Grizzlies this season, but none has been easy. What they've been is entertaining (an average score of 117-108) and competitive (eight-, 12- and three-point wins).
What the Warriors need right now is a win. Any win. They can't see the Grizzlies soon enough.
MAVERICKS 111, WARRIORS 86: The Warriors had hoped to catch the Mavericks in the standings with a win Wednesday night. Instead, they might have created an insurmountable deficit for themselves.
Dallas had more to celebrate than the return of Dirk Nowitzki on this night. Its surprisingly one-sided win avenged a 10-point loss in Oakland on Sunday, clinched the season series over Golden State and put the Mavericks (47-28) two ahead of the Warriors (45-30) with seven games to play in the three-team battle for the seventh and eighth playoff positions.
The Warriors head to Memphis on Friday in the unenviable ninth spot. They ended play Wednesday also a game behind Denver (46-29).
Injured Mavericks star and reigning league MVP Dirk Nowitzki returned to score 18 points and Jason Kidd was at his ball-distributing best with 17 assists, but the Warriors had as much to do with the defeat as any Maverick.
Stephen Jackson (1-for-11) and Al Harrington (1-for-9) combined to shoot 2-for-20, and the Warriors were held under 100 points for just the second time in 39 games. They almost never win (1-9 this season) when held to double digits.
End of story.
