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Warriors Snap Mavs' 17-Game Win Streak

Posted on: Tuesday, 13 March 2007, 03:00 CDT

By GREG BEACHAM

OAKLAND, Calif. - Mickael Pietrus scored 20 points and the Golden State Warriors emphatically snapped the Dallas Mavericks' 17-game winning streak, dominating the league leaders throughout a 117-100 victory Monday night.

The seventh-longest winning streak in NBA history ended with the Warriors' fourth straight win over the defending Western Conference champions - and shockingly, it wasn't even close.

Dirk Nowitzki scored just 13 points on 3-of-11 shooting, made seven turnovers and got a technical foul while sitting on the bench for the Mavericks (52-10), who hadn't lost since Jan. 25 at Chicago.

Jason Terry scored 16 points, but Dallas never was competitive in just its third loss in three months. Eight players scored at least eight points for Golden State, including 16 apiece from Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington, Andris Biedrins and Jason Richardson.

The Mavs beat the Los Angeles Lakers by 36 points Sunday night to improve to 38-2 since Dec. 11, but played awful defense against the Warriors' up-tempo offense while falling behind by 17 in the first half and 29 in the third quarter.

The Mavericks are the first club in NBA history with three winning streaks of 12 games or longer in the same season, but they'll have to start another one Wednesday night in a showdown with Phoenix, which also won 17 straight earlier this year.

Don Nelson, the Mavericks' longtime coach in his first season back with Golden State, has won his first two matchups with former protege Avery Johnson.

The Warriors improbably have been the Mavericks' toughest regular-season opponent recently, and they played perhaps their best game of the season while winning for the fourth time in five games overall to stay in the playoff race despite their 30-36 record.

Baron Davis, who sat out the Warriors' lackluster loss at Portland on Sunday night to rest his surgically repaired left knee, had nine points and seven assists as the Warriors improved to 4-0 with Davis, Richardson, Biedrins, Harrington and Jackson in the starting lineup.

Golden State scored the game's first eight points, and it never got much better for the Mavs, who were dull and disorganized throughout the final three quarters. Nowitzki went scoreless in the second quarter, and Dallas gave up runs of 11-0 and 10-4 while falling behind 62-45 late in the first half.

And one night after Golden State gave a listless performance in Portland, the Warriors surprised even their faithful fans by putting together perhaps their best half of the season. Golden State made 70 percent of its shots until the final minute, while Dallas played atrocious defense despite its 29-11 rebounding advantage.

Nowitzki became visibly frustrated in the third quarter, flattening Davis for an offensive foul before comically swatting a loose ball out of a cameraman's hands in his fury. Coach Avery Johnson removed him from the game while Harrington hit a free throw to put Golden State ahead by 23.

Two possessions later, Nowitzki was whistled for a technical foul for chirping from his seat on the Mavs' bench.

Notes:@ Backup F Devean George played just 2 minutes in the first half before the Mavericks shelved him with soreness in his right knee. George missed seven recent games with a sprained ligament in his knee, but returned last week. ... Monta Ellis scored eight points and made a spectacular move in the second quarter, driving around Nowitzki and making an acrobatic, double-clutch layup under the basket while Erick Dampier fouled him. ... Warriors C Adonal Foyle, who didn't play, will become a U.S. citizen Tuesday.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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