Nowitzki wasn’t the only one who struggled. Josh Howard was 8-of-21 for 21 points with 13 rebounds. Dallas got only four points off the bench, all from center DeSagana Diop. Jerry Stackhouse was 0-for-6 with five turnovers.

“It was one of those games you just want to forget,” Stackhouse said. “We thought we’d handle things better than we did.”

Dallas’ biggest flaw was being unable to contain Davis.

Devean George and Greg Buckner, acquired last summer specifically to provide strong perimeter defense in the playoffs, did a decent job early. Then nobody could stop Davis in the third, when he went 6-of-8, hitting all three of his 3-point tries. He scored four more points in the quarter than his team did in the second.

“Once I got in a rhythm I just stayed locked in,” Davis said. “I can’t even remember the last time I had a quarter like that.”

The Warriors struggled early, which was to be expected for a bunch of playoff novices. Yet the Mavericks, who’d only lost five home games all season (one to Golden State), struggled from the start, too. They missed their last eight shots in the first quarter and their last 10 in the second quarter.

Dallas’ best run came in the third quarter, going from down four to up four — with Nowitzki on the bench.

Golden State led by four going into the fourth quarter and never gave up the lead. Dallas got within 78-76, but an 11-3 run helped the Warriors pull away.

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The Mavericks’ difficulties were symbolized by Golden State’s Jason Richardson taking down Devin Harris hard from behind without drawing a foul. With Harris on the ground, Matt Barnes made a 3-pointer in front of the Dallas bench for a 92-81 lead with about 2 minutes left.

Barnes added 10 and Al Harrington had seven points and 10 rebounds.

Harris scored 19 points, Jason Terry had 17 and George scored 10.

Notes: Davis had 11 rebounds by halftime. ... A new playoff wrinkle: Thunderstix with blue-glowing tips, making for a neat effect when the house lights went down before tipoff. ... Befitting the cat-and-mouse game between coaching staffs, both waited as long as possible to submit their lineups.