Golden State @ Dallas preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 21, 2017 ) Golden State 112, Dallas 87

The Golden State Warriors came into the season with almost unreal expectations and are having some trouble meeting them in the first week of the season. The Warriors will try to keep their cool and even their record when they visit the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.

Golden State stars Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant were both ejected in the final minute of Saturday's 111-101 loss at Memphis after Curry - protesting a no-call on a drive to the basket - tossed his mouthpiece near a referee and Durant came to his defense. "That last play, I thought I got fouled, and my frustration boiled over," Curry told ESPN.com. "I did something stupid. I deserved to get kicked out, and that's what happened. Obviously, I'll learn from it and try not to do it again." The Mavericks are struggling out of the gate as well and are about to face their second straight title contender after falling 107-91 at Houston on Saturday. “I’m not going to make any excuses. It’s a hard schedule for everybody,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle told reporters. "Everybody’s got to play, everybody gets banged up, everybody’s got things that happen, unfortunately, and guys miss games. We’ve just got to keep slugging."

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, NBCS-Bay Area (Golden State),

ABOUT THE WARRIORS (1-2): Curry and Durant are both off to strong starts offensively but Golden State is struggling on the defensive end and with turnovers. “I’m not doing a great job of putting together combinations, finding the right ways to get guys going, to get some joy and laughter in here," coach Steve Kerr told reporters. "It’s just one of those rough patches. Hopefully we can climb our way out of it. I’m sure we will." The Warriors led the NBA with a 43.5 defensive field-goal percentage last season but are allowing opponents to go off at 47.1 percent through the first three games of 2017-18.

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (0-3): Dallas isn't expected to do much this season but does have some hope for the future in point guard Dennis Smith Jr., who collected 16 points and 10 assists in his NBA debut on Wednesday. Smith, who had left knee surgery in 2015, sat out the last two games with swelling in that knee, but the issue is not believed to be serious and he could return as soon as Monday. Yogi Ferrell started at point guard in the last two games and averaged 16.5 points and four assists.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Mavericks SG Seth Curry (lower leg) has yet to make his season debut and remains day-to-day.

2. Durant leads the NBA with 14 blocked shots.

3. Golden State took the last six in the series and won the three meetings last season by an average of 18.3 points.

PREDICTION: Warriors 123, Mavericks 97