Oakland: Omri Casspi earned another start for the injury-plagued defending champions and posted his 17th career double-double with season bests of 17 points and 11 rebounds, helping send the Golden State Warriors past the Dallas Mavericks 112-97 for their eighth straight win.
“Same mindset, just play hard. I want to stay sharp, stay ready whenever I’m called upon,” he said.
Kevin Durant led the way for the Warriors with 36 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Klay Thompson scored 25 points, making all five of his 3-pointers and shooting 10 for 18 overall as the Warriors pulled away in the third quarter.
The Warriors are still down three starters in Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Zaza Pachulia, while Nick Young joined the sidelined group with a concussion sustained in Monday night’s win over Portland.
Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Harrison Barnes added 16 points and seven boards against his former team.
“They’re a talented team and we let a few miscommunications let them get a run going, and we just couldn’t really stop them,” Barnes said.
Golden State rookie Jordan Bell provided an all-around solid performance in his fourth career start with eight points, a season-best eight assists, six rebounds and two steals.
Durant also blocked two shots in his fourth 30-point game of the season and third in the last four. Golden State won its 10th in a row against the Mavericks at Oracle Arena and eighth consecutive in the series overall.
