SAN FRANCISCO—Like a beloved band on a reunion tour, the Golden State Warriors played all the familiar hits Friday night: Anxiety-inducing drama? Check. Three-point flurries? Of course. Exhilarating comeback? Naturally. When your setlist is this strong, you stick to it.
In the abstract, there was nothing new or surprising in the Warriors stumbling into a 19-point hole, or in erasing that deficit in spectacular fashion, or in converting every big play in a dazzling fourth-quarter surge to seize a 126–117 victory over the Dallas Mavericks and a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
It’s the finer details that made it striking.