Oubre scores career-high 40, leads Warriors to blowout win over Mavericks

Without a majority of their frontcourt rotation, the Golden State Warriors played one of their most complete games of the season.

Kelly Oubre Jr. had a career-high 40, while Stephen Curry chipped in with 28 as the Dubs went on to a 147-116 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

James Wiseman, Kevon Looney and Eric Paschall are all sidelined with injuries, so Kerr only had a total of nine players suit up for this game. To put things in perspective, Luka Doncic is taller than every Warrior who played in Dallas. The Dubs didn’t have a player taller than 6’7 play against the Mavs.

It didn’t matter though. Dallas couldn’t contain the Warriors’ offense. The Dubs shot 57.3% from the field and 22-of-43 from the 3-point line, dominating in the second half to get the victory.

Here are three takeaways from Golden State’s win:

Oubre’s big night

The 25-year-old has mostly struggled, but we have seen how good he can be when he is on. Not every NBA player can score 40 points on any night, so seeing Oubre have what is potentially a breakout night is a welcome sight for Warriors fans.

Oubre was patient on the offensive end and didn’t force shots. He waited for the game to come to him and was able to hit open jumpers from beyond the arc.

Oubre hit seven out of his 10 3-point attempts, by far his most efficient shooting night of the season.

It’s been a tough start to Oubre’s tenure in the Bay Area, but Kerr is staying patient with him.

“Obviously for Kelly it’s been a rough first quarter of the season, and yet within that span he’s had some excellent games ...,” Kerr said. “Kelly’s getting more comfortable, guys in the locker room love him, and wanna help him continue to get comfortable. This was obviously a great night for him”

No one expects Oubre to turn into a volume scorer, but he has the potential to average 15-plus points per night. If he can stay disciplined on the offensive end, it will go a long way in helping Golden State qualify for the postseason.

Draymond bounces back

Green shot just one-of-seven and finished with two points in the loss to Boston. He couldn’t buy a 3-pointer, missing all three of his attempts against the Celtics.

Dray didn’t attempt a single shot from deep against the Mavericks but went three-of-five from the field and hit all five of his free-throws.

The big difference for Green against Dallas is that he didn’t settle for outside shots and was able to attack the rim.

When Green can chip in with some buckets, it enhances the rest of his game. As usual, Green has been great setting up teammates on the offensive end, and that showed again against the Mavericks.

Green finished with 15 dimes, one shy of his career-high. We saw more movement from the Warriors overall, which helped Draymond find the open man.

The dominant third quarter

The game was close at halftime, with Dallas leading by two at the break. But the Warriors came out like gangbusters for the third.

Led by Oubre and Curry, the Dubs shot 14-of-21 in the period and outscored the Mavericks 36-20. The defense was aided by Dallas’s peculiar decision not to attack the rim more and settle for jumpers, despite having a massive size advantage.

The Mavericks are the worst shooting team in the NBA, but they didn’t look like it during the opening half. Dallas connected on 50 percent of its attempts from deep through two quarters.

Fortunately for Golden State, that trend didn’t continue in the third. The Warriors held the Mavericks to 33 percent shooting from beyond the arc and took control of the game over the quarter’s final six minutes.

It was tied up at 89-89 with 6:47 left, but it was all Golden State the rest of the way. The Dubs outscored Dallas 21-7 the rest of the way and never looked back. The Dubs were aggressive on the offensive end, especially in the second half. They didn’t settle for jumpers or stare down Curry waiting for him to get open.

Here is the Warriors’ third quarter shot-chart:

ESPN.com

The run was highlighted by this big-boy bucket courtesy of Damion Lee.

This was the best offensive performance of the season for Golden State. Everything came together in terms of ball-movement, shooting and sharing the ball. The Dubs finished with 37 assists on 51 made baskets, which is a ridiculous percentage.

Now we need to see the Warriors put together a string of games where they play at a high-level. If they’re able to do that, we could see them shoot up the Western Conference standings.

How happy are you with this game?