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Politics International COVID-19 Entertainment Business Technology Lifestyle Health Virtual Reality Weather Tips Sports FiveThirtyEight Gun Violence ABC News Network Privacy Policy Your CA Privacy Rights Children's Online Privacy Policy Interest-Based Ads About Nielsen Measurement Terms of Use Do Not Sell My Info Contact Us Copyright © 2022 ABC News Internet Ventures. All rights reserved. ABC News Golden State Warriors, Andrew Wiggins hold Luka Doncic in check to take Game 1 against Dallas Mavericks ByKENDRA ANDREWSviaESPN logo 19 May 2022, 11:59 • 6 min read SAN FRANCISCO -- On a night that every Golden State Warriors player to play meaningful minutes scored in double figures, it was their defense that propelled them to a 112-87 win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Wednesday. Heading into this series, the Warriors were preaching a team-defense mentality. No one was going to be able to take on the task of the Mavericks, and particularly Luka Doncic, alone. Still, someone had to take the brunt of that load. And it was Andrew Wiggins who was tasked with being the primary defender on Doncic. The ultimate goal was never to stop Doncic -- that's nearly impossible -- but to slow him, making sure everything he got was earned and not given. Wiggins came as close as one could. All five of Doncic's contested shots -- he had one breakaway dunk for his sixth field goal -- came against Wiggins, but Wiggins held Dallas' star to 5-of-11 shooting. Wiggins also forced Doncic into three turnovers. "He was moving them puppies tonight," Klay Thompson said. "That's why he was the No. 1 pick. You can't teach that athleticism. You can't teach that length. You can't teach his timing. I'm just happy the world is getting to see who he really is, and that's an incredible wing player, and he will be like this for the next 10 years." Doncic finished with 20 points on 6-of-18 shooting, including 2-of-10 on contested shots. It was the third-lowest career scoring playoff game for Doncic and was just the third time out of 24 postseason games he failed to score more than 20 points. "They were doing a great job on me, especially in the second half," Doncic said. "But I think I've got to be better. That's on me. As a leader, I've got to be better for the whole group, so that's on me." Dallas coach Jason Kidd said: "They did a really good job, Wiggins picking him up full court. They were box-and-one, went zone. But they did a good job. Give them credit. Wiggins did a really good job. We understood coming into the series that we were going to see that. We'll go back and look at the video and see what we can do better." It was just the Warriors' previous game -- Game 6 against the Memphis Grizzlies -- that Wiggins was asking associate head coach Mike Brown whether he could pick up Tyus Jones full court. And on Wednesday, as Kidd said, Wiggins did it again with Doncic. Wiggins would pick him up full court at times, sticking to his side, shadowing his movement all 94 feet up the court. Just that -- even if the defender isn't jabbing for the ball or actively trying to poke it away -- can be enough to frustrate a player. "It's a tactic obviously in terms of just making guys work," said Stephen Curry, who scored a game-high 21 points to lead seven Warriors in double digits. "It's just one more thing to think about. I wouldn't say it bothers you but something you can't try to overcome. Wiggs is going to keep doing it, but it's just one more thing to think about and that's good playoff basketball." Does