Stat of the game: 22-24. That’s the Warriors mark from the line, 3.2 above their season average in attempts and well above that in terms of makes, and they even managed 4 more attempts than the Mavericks. If they can get to the line — and make them — this team can really hang in there.

Monta kept the team in the game through the first three quarters, then went strangely silent in the 4th. But Al Thornton picked up the slack, with 12 points and 9 rebounds off the bench — most of that in the final period. Amundson also came up big off the bench with 8 points and 10 rebounds.

So all-in-all a feel good win against a quality team that still has a lot to play for in terms of playoff positioning. It’s just too bad they couldn’t do this more consistently throughout the season.

Now much to say about this one: The Warriors got smashed from the get-go and never really stood a chance — and capped things off with perhaps their worst 4th quarter of the season.

Not even much to get excited about on an individual level. Udoh was perhaps the bright spot as he had a team-high -1 in 29 minutes, though his atrocious rebounding continues as he only grabbed a single board in that span. Of the others we’re watching here in the final weeks of the season Curry had a so-so game 11 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds, and a -8 that was decent compared to the rest of the team.

On the other hand, Thornton was a mess with a team-low -27 to go with 9 points and 4 boards — and no assists. Williams was a bit better at only -11, but not by much.

And hey, Jeff Adrien got off the bench! He matched Udoh’s rebounding total and got to the line 4 times in only 3 minutes. Can we please just play him a bit more to see if there’s anything there?

All in all, another forgettable road performance in a season that is fast becoming unwatchable — especially when there’s good basketball on other channels.

With 13 games left on the season, what should the Warriors be aiming for? If the season ended today they would draft 11th (if my judgment of the eastern conference standings is correct), but they’ve made a good run on the draft standings with their recent swoon and a move up the order is no longer out of the question — getting to 9 now looks like a distinct possibility.

So that’s one “objective,” and figuring out the roster is probably the other. Udoh and Curry could use some development — and please, Smart, let them play through their mistakes at this point — and I’d like to learn more about what we’ve got with Williams, Thornton, and Adrien.

Of course, that would require Smart to throw in the towel and recognize that his head coaching days will soon be going on hiatus. So we’ll see.

In some ways, I’m glad that things are beginning to implode. Despite my pre-All Star break optimism (seriously, what was I thinking), the past few weeks of games have once again underscored how flawed this team is. If a late-season nose-dive is what it will take to send Smart, Riley, and Rowell packing, then so be it. The absolute worst thing that could happen would be for the Warriors to put a nice little meaningless run together here at the end and enter the offseason thinking that with a bit more luck they’ll be just fine. Because they won’t be.

Thankfully, I don’t think we’re going to have that problem — the Warriors next play the Suns at home, then a tough Texas roadie through Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston. I have a hard time imagining how they could beat any of them, which will push them over 40 losses — with plenty more likely to come…

For a team like the Warriors to beat a team like the Mavericks, they need to be at the top of their game. They don’t need to be perfect, but they can’t make stupid mistakes in key game situations. The Warriors failed that test tonight in a game where they had a chance to pull off the much-needed upset on the road, leaving us with an entertaining game but nothing to show for it in the end.

Aside from the sloppy play, there was a lot to like in this game: Amundson provided a nice shot in the arm off the bench, Lee had a nice bounce-back from his fourth quarter benching in Oklahoma City, and Dorell Wright had a double-double on the way to a solid overall game.

But, ultimately, the bench provided little beyond Amundson and a few nice Radmanovic bombs (and jeez, Reggie Williams is starting to STINK), and the Mavericks made the plays at the end while the Warriors’ sloppiness sealed their fate. And now they go to San Antonio tomorrow night after four of the five starters played 40+ minutes. Looking like an 0-for road trip for sure at this point…

P.S. Can someone teach these assholes how to shoot free throws?