Steph, Klay befuddle Mavs with viral swing dance play’s return originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Another NBA playoff team fell victim to the Warriors’ fancy on-court footwork at Chase Center — this time during the Western Conference finals.
Jordan Poole and Steph Curry went viral earlier this month with a do-si-do-like maneuver during their second-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies, a play coach Steve Kerr said has been in Golden State’s arsenal since 2014.
Curry found another dance partner during Game 1 of the West finals on Wednesday, linking arms with Klay Thompson and spinning in a circle to further confound Dallas Mavericks defenders Dorian Finney-Smith and Reggie Bullock en route to the Warriors’ 112-87 blowout win.
The separate swing dances are nearly identical, right down to the black Warriors jerseys worn during Wednesday’s Warriors-Mavericks game and in Game 3 of Golden State’s Western Conference semifinals matchup with the Grizzlies on May 7.
Both instances also took place on the Warriors’ home court, both led to a win and both were followed by a win in the next game as Golden State took Game 2 from Dallas 126-117 on Friday night.
Kerr previously stated the fun play doesn’t have a name, but former Warriors assistant coach Alvin Gentry introduced it to the playbook years ago. It caught the attention of millions during the Warriors-Grizzlies series and produced similar results for Thompson and Curry against the Mavericks.
Both Finney-Smith and Bullock were forced to switch assignments as Curry and Thompson rotated around them, with Curry sprinting toward open space after catapulting himself off of his fellow Splash Brother.
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The two Golden State stars used to run the play together frequently, Kerr said, and Wednesday night was a good reminder why.
As Dub Nation has already seen this postseason, good things happen when Curry dances.
His first swing dance with Poole was closely followed by a series victory over the Grizzlies, and the Warriors will look to continue that trend as they head to Dallas for Game 3 of the West finals on Sunday with a two-games-to-none lead over the Mavericks in the best-of-seven series.