While Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors gave the Dallas Mavericks quite the scare in the closing minutes of Game 4, their efforts were not enough to overcome the 29-point lead that the Mavs built in the contest.
A lot of things went wrong for the Warriors, including shooting 10-of-28 from 3-point land, but Curry expressed his belief that the Mavs' adjustment to their zone defense was the biggest factor in their eventual 119-109 loss.
“They tried some stuff against our zone, trying to overload one side and force us to rotate, and we were just a step slow,” Curry explained, per NBC Sports. “They obviously have a lineup where they can put five shooters out there, and then they switched it up — I don't know if it was end of the first half or second half, but they put Luka [Doncic] off the ball in the zone, so he was the one catching with a live dribble and making us make a read.”
For what it's worth, Mavs head coach Jason Kidd shared how they exploited the Warriors' zone defense with their 3-point shooting and rebounding. The Dubs basically told Dallas they can't guard them one-on-one, and so the home team took advantage of that.
Stephen Curry knows very well they have to defend better come Game 5 if they want to close out the series. While they still have plenty of chances even if they lose again, they just can't give the Mavs that confidence and belief they can actually come back from a 3-0 deficit.
The Warriors sharpshooter admits it will be difficult, but it is up to them to respond and deliver
“We knew to close them out, it's going to be tough. So, you've got to strap up on defense. When we go home, Game 5 and figure out how to slow them down, especially in the first quarter,” Curry added.
Game 5 is scheduled on Thursday at Chase Center.
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