The Warriors knock out Doncic's Mavericks and reach their sixth final in eight years

The dream has come to an end.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
27 May 2022 Friday 03:11
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The Warriors knock out Doncic's Mavericks and reach their sixth final in eight years

The dream has come to an end. For the first time since he landed in the United States, Luka Doncic had managed to get past the first round of the playoffs, but he was not satisfied with this. His Dallas Mavericks dropped to the best team of the regular season and reached the conference finals. "I think no one has managed to completely annul Luka," said Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams after being eliminated. How far could the Slovenian and his squires go? It was all too beautiful to be true.

The Golden State Warriors went to find the Texans in their dream world and brought them back to Earth. Specifically, to the Chase Center in San Francisco, where the Golds had never lost in these playoffs. In five games, the Californian franchise has knocked out the Mavericks, who this Friday morning said goodbye to their aspirations to win the ring (120-110).

Steve Kerr is a man with his feet on the ground. The Golden State Warriors coach grabbed all the headlines this week. Not because of his stratagems or his tactical drawings, but because of the forcefulness with which he expressed his rejection of the Republican senators' refusal to regularize access to weapons. “When are we going to do something?” he bellowed after the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting in which an 18-year-old killed 19 children and two adults. However, his mastery of speech is not limited to the moral realm, but also carries over to the basketball courts.

Aware that Doncic is practically impossible to stop, for the conference finals he designed a plan that was based not on canceling him, but on stopping him, on deconcentrating him. The same thing he had done with Nikola Jokic in the first round. If the Slovenian was not comfortable, the battle was won, but if he shone again as only he knows how, the Californians' mission was to isolate him, leave him alone in the face of danger.

The former Real Madrid star concluded the fifth game with 28 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Nothing bad. But it took time to activate. Doncic missed ten of the first twelve shots he attempted. When he warmed up, starting the third quarter, it was already too late. The Warriors were 17 points ahead and would not allow themselves to be traced back. "I don't like to lose and even less so," said the Slovenian when his elimination from the playoffs was confirmed. “I have played terrible, but if we talk about our season, I am very proud of this team. No one was waiting for us here. I promise you that we have fought until the end, ”he assured.

On a bad night for his perimeter partner, Jalen Brunson (10 points), who failed to shine again like he did in the first round against the Utah Jazz, Doncic had Spencer Dinwiddie as his right hand man. With 26 points off the bench, the combo guard was one of only four Texan players to reach double figures in scoring. The fourth in question was Dorian Finney-Smith (13 points).

Once the clock hit 0.00, Klay Thompson was in the spotlight. All of his teammates went to celebrate the victory with him, who was visibly excited. After missing two full seasons of basketball, after recovering from an Achilles tendon injury and another to the anterior cruciate ligament, the sniper was once again reaching the NBA finals. Fate offered him compensation for all the suffering he had experienced. But nobody gave Thompson anything for free: he led the Warriors on the floor with 32 points.

"It is difficult to define this moment with words," said the shooting guard at the end of his exhibition. “A year ago, he was starting to jog again, from one side of the track to the other. That now I can feel myself again, being explosive, feeling confident in all the movements I make… I am very grateful for that.”

Thompson was not alone. When he was defending or missing a shot, all of his teammates were ready to pick up the slack. Up to six 'golden blood' players exceeded the ten point barrier: Andrew Wiggins (18), Draymond Green (17), Jordan Poole (16), Stephen Curry (15) and Kevon Looney (10). Together, as a true team, they qualified for their sixth finals in the last eight years, a feat only previously accomplished by Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls, Magic Johnson's Los Angeles Lakers and Bill Russell's Boston Celtics.

When describing Klay Thompson, two adjectives usually stand out: 3-point shooter and defender. Despite the appropriateness of both qualifiers, their importance in Steve Kerr's schemes goes much further. In the two years he couldn't help the Warriors, the team couldn't get past the play-in tournament. With him, it's back to the big dance. “You see how we have missed him. We are very lucky to have Klay Thompson back with us," said Draymond Green.

For the first time in NBA history, at the conclusion of the conference finals, an award was given to designate the best player in the last round before the battle for the ring. Stephen Curry was awarded the first 'Magic Johnson Trophy' after averaging 23.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists against the Mavericks.

The Golden State Warriors will face the winner of the tie between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. Right now, the green franchise starts with an advantage (3-2) and this morning from Friday to Saturday they will have the opportunity to confirm their attendance at the big dance after 12 years without doing so. The first game of the finals will be played on June 2.