OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -The Golden State Warriors put on a show that was well worth their fans’ 13-year wait.
Jason Richardson had 30 points and eight rebounds, Baron Davis added 24 points and the Warriors steamrolled the NBA-leading Dallas Mavericks for the second time in three games, winning 109-91 Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.
The Bay Area’s first NBA playoff game since May 4, 1994, was a rollicking success for the eighth-seeded Warriors, whose faithful fans endured 12 straight losing seasons before coach Don Nelson got them back to the playoffs this spring.
And after dominating both ends of the court in another improbably comfortable win over the mighty Mavericks, the Warriors are halfway to what probably would be the biggest first-round upset in NBA playoff history.
The biggest crowd in Warriors history – 20,629 yellow-clad fans packed into the rafters of Oracle Arena – rarely sat down during Oakland’s biggest party in years. The fans chanted “Overrated!” at the flustered Mavs and Dirk Nowitzki, who had 20 points and 12 rebounds in another poor performance.
Game 4 in the best-of-seven series is Sunday night in Oakland, with Game 5 back in Dallas on Tuesday.
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