OAKLAND, Calif. – The Western Conference coach didn't want his name used. He has the utmost respect for Avery Johnson.

But as he watched what the Mavericks did with their lineup in the final days of the regular season, he didn't understand. He wondered why Johnson went with his normal rotation to beat the LA Clippers earlier this month after he had already begun to rest some key starters.

"Why in the world did he do that?" the coach asked. "The Mavericks should want to face the Clippers in the first round. That's a much better matchup for them than Golden State.

"I would think they'd be a little scared of the Warriors."

If they weren't before, they are now.

This wasn't the first game of the series, when Golden State came in and surprised a Mavericks team that had been on cruise control for the better part of three weeks. This was an emphatic statement that the Warriors belong in this series.

Golden State attacked the basket time and time again. The Warriors lived in the paint. They stayed even with the Mavericks on the boards. They were clearly the better team.

It could be worse. The Mavericks could be Miami, one game shy of elimination in the East.

How the mighty have fallen. The two teams that played for the championship 10 months ago look remarkably ordinary in the first week of this postseason. The Heat won't make it out of the first round.

The Mavericks still should. But they are at a critical juncture.

The Mavericks need to do more than play better Sunday night. They need to win. If the Mavericks return home down 3-1 in the series, what chance do you give them to win it?

Not much.

"This was huge for us," said Jason Richardson, who was huge for the Warriors. "To see all of the fans in their yellow 'We Believe' shirts, it gave us so much energy."

Believe? The Mavericks do. Their last lead came early in the first quarter. If you didn't know what happened the previous 6 ½ months, you would have assumed the Warriors were the league's best team during the regular season.

Defense? The Mavericks didn't play much of it.

Offense? The Mavericks spent most of the evening staring at a double-digit deficit.

The Mavericks played so poorly they couldn't even blame the loss on official Dan Crawford.

The Schmoe routine won't fly anymore. The Warriors have a legitimate shot to win this series after Friday's performance.

Golden State coach Don Nelson knows it. His poor-us approach changed the moment his team left Dallas.

"We're at home, baby," Nelson said before the game. "We're a good home team."

Friday was the Warriors' first home playoff game in 13 years. It's hard to say it's worth the wait.

But it was pretty good.

Nelson lamented before the game that his team was only hitting on three cylinders. He needed to get more players involved to challenge the Mavericks.

He got it.

Richardson, quiet in the first two games, came to life with 30 points. Every player who started for the Warriors scored in double figures. Andris Biedrins, who started at center for Al Harrington to match the Mavericks' big lineup, came up big with 10 points and 10 rebounds.