DALLAS — Stephen Curry served as the ringleader of a surprise celebration for Steve Kerr, who set an NBA record for most wins by a rookie coach and emerged from the locker room all wet.
The Warriors, with a 123-110 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, not only clinched home-court advantage throughout the playoffs but also made it their 63rd win to prompt a sneak attack on Kerr.
It was Curry who also presented Kerr the game ball after the Warriors improved to 63-13 and secured the tiebreaker on Atlanta, which trails them by six games with as many games left in the regular season.
“How lucky am I to coach these guys in my first year?” Kerr said.
The Warriors captured their 12th straight victory, continuing to rack up wins at a time when the team’s priority is its health. Kerr said he didn’t prefer facing one Western Conference playoff opponent over another.
Klay Thompson scored a game-high 21 points as the Warriors opened their final regular season trip by devouring a playoff appetizer in Dallas, which is expected to end up the No. 7 seed in the West.
A bit of controversy emerged late in the third quarter when the Warriors’ Shaun Livingston was whistled for a Flagrant 1 after appearing to hit Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki in the groin while guarding Nowitzki from behind.
“I was trying to get my arm bar up before he backed me down, and he happened to kind of sit back and create space with his lower area, and it was bad timing,” Livingston said. “Eleven years in (his NBA career), I haven’t had a dirty play.
Nowitzki’s ensuing free throws cut the Warriors’ lead to 86-74, but as Dallas fans spent the rest of the game booing Livingston whenever he touched the ball, the Warriors wouldn’t let the Mavericks back into the game.
With the Warriors leading 106-89, J.J. Barea put a forearm to Livingston for a common foul that held up as such upon review.
“It’s a Hall of Fame player,” Cuban said of Nowitzki, who led the Mavericks with 18 points. “You don’t treat somebody like that.
Livingston played the role of the villain on the road as Curry was limited to 28 minutes in three quarters and scored 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting. Curry had taken a spill after being fouled while scoring on a layup on the team’s second possession, and he limped slightly when he got up.
Kerr, after having been caught off guard by the Curry-led postgame celebration, supported Curry’s NBA MVP candidacy.
“Imagine what his number would look like if he were playing in all these fourth quarters, and that’s the extent of my promotion for Steph tonight,” Kerr said.
Andre Iguodala and Marreese Speights added 18 points apiece off the bench. Speights’ deep 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer gave them a 59-48 lead.
Draymond Green returned to action after missing the past three games with shin inflammation. He collected five points, six rebounds and four assists in 30 minutes.
For more on the Warriors, see the Inside the Warriors blog at www.ibabuzz.com/warriors. Follow Diamond Leung on Twitter at twitter.com/diamond83.
It's been five years since Madison Bumgarner tossed a complete game shutout to beat the Pirates in the NL Wildcard Game. Friday's game showed why a largely unchanged roster is an issue.
Can the Warriors avoid another playoff letdown vs. Clippers?
With the Warriors holding a 2-1 series lead over the Clippers, they believe they will not squander retaking the series.
The Dubs' dynamic defensive duo is back together and thriving.