Liveblog: Warriors v. Mavs Game 1

1st quarter
6:50 - Total brickfest to start out tonight, no one can hit anything.
6:53 - Both teams are starting out small, which I think helps the Warriors. Hopefully they'll eventually hit their strides and we'll see some more scoring.
6:55 - Josh Howard gets the home call when he flops on an Al Harrington backdown. Oh that's right, Dick Bavetta is reffing this game. Guess we should call it now for the Mavs.
6:57 - Terry hammers J-Rich. Hard foul. Think the Mavs are a little angry that for the last few days some people have been saying they could fall to the Warriors in this series? I say yes.
7:00 - Matt Barnes is sporting a ridiculous new haircut, which I love. He looks like one of those guys from the Mad Max movies.
7:04 - Dick Bavetta makes a HORRIBLE call on J-Rich when Harris essentially runs into him and flops. That was just an atrocious call. J-Rich responds by burying a three and then punching Dick Bavetta in the face.
7:08 - Warriors made a nice little run and are up by a few.
7:15 - Warriors up 23-17 after one quarter. Warriors look pretty good and are definitely playing with fire.

2nd quarter
7:20 - Mavs instantly go on a 6-0 run and we're all tied up again. We're finally starting to see some Diop here. The chessmatch begins. Wonder how long before Nelson brings Biedrins in.
7:25 - Warriors instead bring Ellis back in. Trying to kill them with speed and it seems to be working as the Warriors go up by 5.
7:27 - Diop gets his 3rd foul when Jackson drives to the hoop. This could be of some trouble for the Mavs, since they've played better when Diop is in there.
7:30 - Davis gets poked in the eye on a drive to the basket. If the Warriors lose Davis, who is incredibly injury prone, at any point in this series, they have literally no chance. They have a negative chance of winning the series if that's even possible.
7:35 Our buddy Dwyermaker chimes in - Did you see Dampier sitting on the bench looking like he was going to kill somebody? As if he hasn't already proven to everyone that the Mavs way overpaid for him and the Warriors made a slick move not trying to sign him when he was a free agent. Someone needs to explain to me how Howard is still making $1.6 million per season and able to play with Dampier making about $10 million per year...
7:41 - Frenetic pace to this game as Howard nearly does a flip after dunking. Probably worthy of a tech, but whatever, this game has picked up and although sort of sloppy, it's just brimming with energy. These guys are fighting hard and it's only Game 1. I wonder why we don't see this kind of intensity in the regular season? Oh wait, I know why.
7:47 - The Warriors really need this game as a confidence booster. They're playing well, but if they lose this game, they might not play with the same fire in upcoming games.
7:48 - Game is tied at half and Nowitzki has sucked a huge one in the first half, missing 37 makeable shots. Strangely the score is 38-38 at the end of the first half, didn't expect that.

HALFTIME - Barkley makes a good point at half. Why did the Mavs change their starting lineup when facing a #8 seed? Because they went 0-3 this year against the Warriors Charles.

3rd quarter
8:11 - Baron Davis leads the Warriors with 11 rebounds. That's not exactly a good stat. The Warriors need to do a better job rebounding.
8:12 - But if they start burying threes like Stephen Jackson did, then they don't really need to rebound.
8:14 - Starting to agree with Barkley now as the Warriors go on a mini-run. Why exactly did AJ change the starting lineup and why did he start that same lineup in the second half? This lineup isn't working so well.
8:20 - So Diop comes in and all of a sudden the Mavs are up by 1. Hey Avery, I think I'm seeing a trend here.
8:22 - The refs seem to feel the same way as I do, when Diop pushes Biedrins in the back and then follows it up with a layup. Clear offensive foul but no call.
8:25 - We're starting to see the Warriors weakness in this series, they aren't doing well with rebounding. But Diop just picked up his 4th foul. Please get Dampier in there. He moves like a slug.
8:31 - Mavs go on a little run but the Warriors just won't go away as Davis buries a 3 with almost no time remaining on the shot clock to tie it up.
8:32 - Dwyermaker thinks Barnes's haircut makes him look a little like Sanjaya. I still say Mad Max extra. Those tattoos make him too badass to be a Sanjaya clone.
8:35 - A shot of Cuban looking seriously concerned as the Warriors go up by 2. Classic. Davis then buries a long range 3. That's right Cuban, you're team isn't having a an easy time. And Davis buries another 3 as time runs out! Warriors up by six with a quarter to go. Suck it Cuban!

4th quarter
8:47 - Regardless of who wins this game, the Warriors have proved they can definitely hang with the Mavs. Avery Johnson has also proved he's not quite as good a coach as I thought he was. Keep Diop in there for crying out loud Avery!
8:50 - Baron Davis comes back in, hopefully for the rest of this game. He's been having one hell of a game.
8:54 - The Czar tells us that the Warriors have earned the Mavs respect tonight. Yes, yes they have.
8:57 - Nowitzki bricks another shot, he's been putrid this game. The Warriors have to win this game. Nowitzki won't be this bad all series.
9:03 - In case anyone can't tell, Baron Davis is the key to the Warriors doing well in this series. Harris can't guard him one-on-one because he's too small and Devean George can't guard him one-on-one because he's too slow. And they can't pull Howard off of J-Rich or Jackson. And Jason Terry isn't really a great defender.
9:08 - Warriors up 10. HUGE.
9:10 - J-Rich loses the ball, then gets a huge block on Harris. Just a great play, the kind you don't see in the regular season. Barnes then decides not to let the clock run down and jacks up a 3, but buries it. Good thing you made that shot Barnes, I would have killed you if you didn't make that.
9:15 - Davis buries a game ending 3, which is only fitting. 33 pts, 14 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals. Dominating performance.
9:20 - Cuban can suck it. Warriors win. And yes, we called this one.