The Dallas Mavericks edged the Golden State Warriors 116-113 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Tuesday, to end their four-game losing-losing streak.

Before Klay Thompson missed the game-tying attempt at the 3-point line, the Warriors had the chance to gain lead. They trailed by two points (115-113) with about 16 seconds to go in the fourth quarter. Stephen Curry drove to the front court, and tricked Maxi Kleber with a pump fake. However, Curry was called a travel before he took the shot, turning the ball over to the Mavericks.

It was such an awkward way to finish the key offensive possession and the 18th turnover committed by the Warriors. In fact, it was only one of the many moments this season when players were not used to the referees' new standard of calling violations, including traveling and carrying.

Curry, Jordan Poole and Luka Doncic were all called for controversial violations more than once in Tuesday's game. Crew chief John Goble, referee Sean Corbin and umpire Matt Boland may face criticism from a lot of fans after making those calls.

Nonetheless, it's unfair to blame one referee's call for the Warriors' loss. Their biggest failure on Tuesday was not able to stop Doncic, who shot 14-for-27 from the field to drop a triple-double of 41 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists. It was his fifth triple-double this season, the most of all players, and he scored each of them with over 30 points.

The Warriors had rich experience in containing Doncic after eliminating the Mavericks 4-1 in the Western Conference Finals last season, but they may want to alter their strategy after Tuesday's game. Andrew Wiggins was unable to make Doncic work hard to get every point in isolation possessions. Curry, who put on more muscles to improve his individual defense, found it more difficult to stop Doncic who kept targeting him by using screens.

As a result, the Warriors had to double-team Doncic much more often than they had planned. Tim Hardaway Jr., Josh Green and Davis Bertans all responded to Doncic's by making at least two triples at over 50 percent of the 3-point rate. Furthermore, though the ejection of Spencer Dinwiddie (for elbowing Poole) hurt the team's playmaking and forced coach Jason Kidd to put Doncic back onto the court early in the fourth quarter, the team managed to contain the Warriors' counterstrike with resilient defense.

As we mentioned several times before, the Mavericks' defensive system was built on smart and quick rotations. Their players on average are mediocre in size, power and athleticism. Therefore, remarkable individual attacking ability, especially in penetration and bullying the rim, is usually what it takes to break the Mavericks' defense line.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, they don't have options like that. Wiggins was obviously not in his best form in Tuesday's game. Poole's touch was cold though he delivered nine assists; Jonathan Kuminga lacked the ball-dribbling ability to launch an attack on his own and there's a limit over what he can do as a finisher.

As a result, Curry became the Warriors' only effective offensive weapon. Despite that he enhanced his aggressiveness by a lot, Curry couldn't throw himself toward the hoop in every possession, not to mention that the Mavericks were encouraged to double-team him by the poor 3-point shooting (6-for-29) of the rest of the Warriors.

Other games on Tuesday (away teams come first):

New York Knicks 140-110 Detroit Pistons

Though Julius Randle didn't play at home on his birthday night, the 28-year-old big man drained six triples to drop 36 points, seven rebounds and five assists to lead the Knicks to win at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The team was dominant in offensive rebounds (17-7), second-chance points (21-11) and points in the paint (68-50).

Having suffered their third straight loss, the Pistons lay at the bottom of the league with a 5-18 record. Sophomore Cade Cunningham sat out 10 games with left shin soreness, which's likely a stress fracture; rookie Jaden Ivey hit the "rookie wall" due to his lack of shooting ability; Jalen Duren is still a raw material as a big man.

The Pistons may soon have to decide on their plan for this season. Adding more promising young men sounds more attractive than chasing an unrealistic goal, like competing for postseason qualification.

Los Angeles Clippers 118-112 Portland Trail Blazers

Both teams lacked their star players when they met at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. The Clippers missed Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and even John Wall; the Trail Blazers had Damian Lillard sit out the competition. Theoretically, Rip City seemed to have an advantage.

Nonetheless, what really happened on the court was different. The Trail Blazers led by as many as 13 points (95-82) after the first three quarters, but when the Clippers stopped at nothing to keep Anfernee Simons from shooting off the dribble at the 3-point line, they paralyzed the opponents' offense from the source. Jerami Grant contributed 10 points via isolation, but that was already over half of the home team's scoring production in the final quarter.

Norman Powell made the biggest contribution for the Clippers to come back. Not only did he outscore the Trail Blazers' whole bench unit 32-11, he also outperformed the opponents' whole team in 22-17 in the fourth quarter. Most of Reggie Jackson's seven assists during this period went to Powell.