Warriors defeat Mavs in series opener

SAN FRANCISCO - With the performance of the Splash Brothers as well as the team's bottling up Luka Doncic, the Golden State Warriors outgunned the Dallas Mavericks to win their Western Conference finals series opener 112-87 on Wednesday.

Curry started slowly and missed his initial five 3-point attempts, four of which were in the first quarter. But he got involved in other ways by dishing out four assists and grabbing seven rebounds in the first half.

The Mavs made 14 of 44 attempts from the field in the first half, and only seven of 29 three-point attempts, but only trailed by nine points at half-time and were able to remain within sight of the Warriors.

Klay Thompson's time came in the second half. He had made only four attempts from the field and failed to score a point in the first two quarters, but got into the groove in the second half with 15 points.

With Doncic appearing to be nursing a sore shoulder, the Warriors outscored the visitors 34-24 in the third quarter to lead by 19 points. Warriors coach Steve Kerr was able to withdraw his starters with five minutes left, earning them a valuable rest for what could be a long series.

Curry had 21 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while Andrew Wiggins added 19 points and made a remarkable contribution in stopping Doncic.

Doncic scored 20 points but shot just 6 for 18 and 3 of 10 from deep, while Dallas trailed for almost the entirety of the game. The Slovenian received a scratch across his face early in the game by Wiggins, who handled much of the defensive load, and also tugged at his troublesome right shoulder that had been taped earlier in the playoffs.

Game two of the series takes place in San Francisco on Friday. The winner of the series will play against the winner of the Eastern Conference, either Boston or Miami, in the NBA Finals.