SAN FRANCISCO — Many months ago and well before he returned to the court from an injury absence of more than 2 1/2 years, Klay Thompson made a bold proclamation:"It's championship or bust."
Thompson can't wait to lead the Warriors into the best-of-seven series against the surprising fourth-seeded Mavericks, who took down top-seeded Phoenix 123-90 in the deciding seventh game of their series Sunday. Warriors coach Steve Kerr, whose Warriors reached five straight NBA Finals from 2015-19, knows what his team is up against.
It's also a breakthrough of sorts for the Mavs' Jason Kidd, who is in his first season as coach of the team he helped win a title as point guard. Kidd led Brooklyn to the second round as a rookie coach in 2013-14, the season after the Hall of Famer retired as a player. Kidd couldn't get Milwaukee out of the first round in two tries over three seasons. He was fired during his fourth season with the Bucks.
The Warriors became only the third eighth seed to upset the No. 1 and the first since the opening round went from best-of-five to the current format. The Denver Nuggets and the New York Knicks were the other teams.
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