Kidd says Mavericks ‘died by the 3’ in Game 2 loss to Warriors

Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd was left frustrated by his side’s shot selection as they went 2-0 down to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.

Despite a strong lead after the second quarter thanks to a best-in-show Luka Doncic, who posted 42, the visitors were pegged back for a second consecutive loss at Chase Center.

The Mavs blew several chances to keep daylight between themselves and their hosts in the third quarter, but an over-reliance on attempts to bags 3s left them to suffer.

“When you go 2-for-13 and you rely on the 3, you can die by the 3,” Kidd said. “And we died in the third quarter by shooting that many 3s and coming up with only two.

“If you make [3s], that’s great, but you just have to understand, if you miss four in a row, you can’t take the fifth.

“You’ve got to make it. That just puts too much stress on yourself and on your team because, if you’re not getting stops on the other end, it turns into a blowout.”

The Mavs face a tough road back into contention, but will take consolation from the fact a 2-0 deficit is far from insurmountable, having been knocked out by the Clippers last season with a similar advantage after two games.

They also boast Doncic, one of the best form players in the NBA right now, and the Slovenian admitted his side could have put more in.

“We weren’t attacking the paint that much,” he added. “But we got to attack the paint more, like they did. They attacked the paint a lot.

“They have two of the best shooters in the world, and they still attack the paint. So I think we’ve got to rely less on the 3.”