Warriors Stun Mavericks In NBA Opener

Monday, April 23rd 2007, 7:27 am

By: News On 6

DALLAS (AP) _ The Golden State Warriors have stunned the team with the best regular-season record in the NBA. Baron Davis scored 19 of his 33 points in the third quarter in a 97-85 win over the Mavericks in the opener of their Western Conference series. It's the Warriors' first playoff win since 1992. Davis added 14 rebounds and eight assists.

Dallas won 67 regular-season games. But this was Golden State's sixth straight win over Dallas. The Warriors are 4-0 against the Mavs since coach Don Nelson joined the bench this season.

Nelson says ``it looks like it will be a long series.''

In other NBA playoff action:

Allen Iverson scored 31 and Carmelo Anthony added 30 as the Denver Nuggets beat the San Antonio Spurs 95-89 in the opener of their Western Conference playoff series. The sixth-seeded Nuggets haven't won a playoff series since 1994. Nene added 13 points and 12 rebounds.

LeBron James finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as Cleveland downed the Washington Wizards 97-82. James played 44 minutes despite spraining his left ankle in the third quarter. He helped the Cavs hold the Wizards to 15 points in the final period. Larry Hughes scored a team-high 27 points for the Cavaliers.

The Phoenix Suns silenced Kobe Bryant in the second half while rallying for a 95-87 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant led all scorers with 39 points but had just eleven after halftime. Leandro Barbosa scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half, including 15 consecutive Phoenix points. Amare Stoudemire added 23 points and 12 rebounds to the win.