Warriors try to grab 3-1 lead over Mavs

Game 5 is scheduled for Tuesday at American Airlines Center. Dallas and Golden State are meeting in the playoffs for the first time.

The teams split the first two games of the series in Dallas. The Warriors won the opener 97-85, while the Mavericks bounced back to win Game 2 112-99 and knot the set at a game apiece.

On Friday, Jason Richardson scored 30 points as No. 8 Golden State rode the emotion of its first home playoff contest since 1994 with a surprising 109-91 rout of the top-seeded Mavericks at ORACLE Arena

Richardson finished 12-of-19 from the field, while Baron Davis had 24 points and Stephen Jackson tallied 16 points for the Warriors. Monta Ellis, who was the NBA’s Most Improved Player, scored 14 in the victory.

MVP candidate Dirk Nowitzki had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Dallas, who continued to struggle against Golden State. Josh Howard also scored 20, while Jason Terry netted 14 for the Mavericks, who shot just 38.8 percent from the field.

The Mavericks, who have lost four straight road games in the playoffs, have won four of their last six Games 4s in the postseason, while Golden State has dropped two straight Game 4s.

Dallas lost in six games to the Miami Heat in the championship round last year. The Mavericks reached the 60-win mark for the third time in franchise history during the 2006-07 regular season, as they won a franchise-best 67 games.

The last time the Mavericks lost in the first round of the playoffs was in 2004, when they were ousted in five games, 4-1, by the Sacramento Kings.

Golden State, which had the longest playoff drought in the NBA, returned to the postseason for the first time since 1994, when it was led by Chris Mullin, Latrell Sprewell and Chris Webber. The Warriors were swept, 3-0, by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs.