Baron Davis' return to the Warriors lineup since his injury has already had a dramatic effect on the team's morale and energy level. His presence at the point, running the show proved so as Golden State crumpled a 17-game win streak by overtaking the Mavericks 117-100 last night. With the win the Warriors claim a 30-36 record. 4 players in the starting lineup scored 16 points a piece and Mickael Pietrus had 20 off the bench. Setting the tone was Davis, who dished out 7 assists with 9 points which is below his average. He helped his team pull away in the 4th quarter where they took full control.
The Mavericks struggled on offense, unable to get in any kind of rhythm. Dirk Nowitzki shot 3-for-11 from the field with 13 points. No one got hot for Dallas and simply didn't hit big shots late. They shot 42% on FGs in the game and couldn't shut down the energetic push Golden State executed. With the loss still it won't hurt the Mavs, owning a comfortable 8-game lead over the Spurs in the Southwest division. Their momentum is slightly slowed down, but it looks as if they'll finish at the top in the West.
I know Baron Davis played just 23 minutes Monday night and didn't have a magnificent performance on the offensive end, that doesn't mean he doesn't have a huge impact on his teammates. His role is to get them involved as often as possible, sometimes deliver in the clutch. In actuality he thrives at making his teammates better players when he flies down the lane off the dribble and kicks it to open guys for high-percentage shots. My hat is off to Davis because everyone thinks he can't make a difference or help position Golden State for a final playoff spot. For the critics out there just wait and see what happens within the last 3 weeks of the season...BD will be bringing his A game, no doubt about it.
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