Warriors forward Lindy Waters III is a competitor.
And his fiery, deliberate spirit was on full display in Golden State’s 143-133 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 15 at Chase Center.
There was a brief altercation between Waters and Dallas superstar Luka Dončić. The Warriors forward slapped the ball out of the Mavericks guard's hand during a timeout. Waters explained to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole on the latest episode of “Dubs Talk” how the routine basketball-ism was more intentional than it might have looked on the surface.
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“I know he likes to shoot after the whistles or after the buzzers,” Waters said to Poole. “There was a timeout, and I had a feeling he was about to just shoot his shot. It’s just instincts, really; I see the ball right there, in his hands, and I wanted the ball, so I took it from him -- knocked it out of his hands. I don’t think he liked that really much.”
As seen in the video, the ploy worked. Dončić stopped in his tracks and shared a piece of his mind with Waters -- just as the 27-year-old Golden State wing intended.
And Waters wisely didn’t give Dončić the attention he wanted.
“Not really,” Waters told Poole about listening to what Dončić had to say. “I didn’t pay attention. It’s just like, ‘All right.’ I’m not too focused on -- if I get into his head, great; if not, I’m going to get my rest on the bench.”
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The Mavericks did win that game, but Waters was a Warriors-high plus-13 and finished with 12 points, five rebounds and two assists.
Waters’ brief altercation with Dončić serves as just another example of how the Golden State reserve’s marginal victories help him see the court.