Golden State Warriors vs Dallas Mavericks 5/20/22 NBA Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Dallas Mavericks and the Golden State Warriors collide in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals at the Chase Center on Friday night.

The Dallas Mavericks will be going back to the drawing board after getting humbled by the Warriors in a 112-87 loss in Game 1 on Wednesday. Luka Doncic led the team in scoring with just 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists, Spencer Dinwiddie added 17 points off the bench while Jalen Brunson chipped in with 14 points and four assists. As a team, the Mavericks shot just 36 percent from the field and 11 of 48 from the 3-point line as they got off to a terrible start, scoring just 18 points in the first quarter to fall behind early and things only got worse in the second half where the Warriors ran away with it. Doncic didn’t look like himself at all as he shot just six of 18 from the field while committing seven turnovers to his four assists and he barely got any help from any of the role players except for Dinwiddie off the bench. 

Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors enjoyed an extended rest coming into Game 1 and it looked like it paid dividends as they are now looking to take a 2-0 series lead following their dominant win on Wednesday. Stephen Curry led the team with 21 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole each scored 19 points while Klay Thompson chipped in with 15 points and four assists. As a team, the Warriors shot a healthy 56 percent from the field and 10 of 29 from the 3-point line as they jumped all over the Mavericks from the start and took a nine-point lead going into halftime, before exploding for 34 points in the third quarter to push the lead out to double-digits. It was a real balanced offense as the Warriors had seven players finish in double figures in scoring and they were equally impressive on the defensive end as they held the Mavericks to just 11 of 48 from the 3-point line which kept them at bay for the entire game. 

Looking at the betting trends, the Mavericks are 1-4 ATS in their last five road games, 20-8 ATS in their last 28 games against a team with a winning record and 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games overall. The Warriors are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games against a team above .600, 2-6 ATS in their last eight games as a favorite and 8-2 ATS in their last 10 home games. 

Head to head, the over is 12-5 in the last 17 meetings overall, the Mavericks are 11-4 ATS in the last 15 meetings overall and the Mavericks are 6-2 ATS in the last eight meetings in Golden State. 

It’s hard to make an argument for the Mavericks after what we saw from them on Wednesday, but they won’t be panicking just yet as they lost both series openers against the Jazz and the Suns and they still made it this far. The Warriors enjoyed the advantage of extra rest after blowing past the Grizzlies in six games and they just looked so sharp, especially on the defensive end as they kept Doncic quiet the entire game. The Mavs will surely put up a much better fight in this one, but they’re going to need a monster game from Doncic to just stay close. With that being said, I’m going with the more consistent Warriors to take a 2-0 series lead in this spot.