The Golden State Warriors entered their Wednesday night contest against the Dallas Mavericks a perfect 2-0 in the Jimmy Butler era after acquiring the former All-Star from the Miami Heat before the NBA trade deadline. Going up against a shorthanded Mavericks team without several key bigs, it seems as if Golden State could walk into Dallas and win the game with size.

However, Golden State’s advantage on the glass and points in the paint wasn’t enough, as Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving scored 42 points and led Dallas to a 111-107 victory over the Warriors. Golden State still has one game remaining against the Houston Rockets before beginning the All-Star break, as Warriors head coach Steve Kerr expressed his frustration with the league post-game.

“That’s what makes this loss more frustrating,” Kerr said. “We’re gonna get into Houston at [3:00 AM] because the NBA in its infinite wisdom makes us play an 8:45 game. They clearly don’t care about rest or player health it’s just ratings and all that stuff, so I get it.”

Kerr mentioned that the team might opt not to bring veterans like Steph Curry to Houston due to the fatigue it will cause playing two games so close to one another. Golden State’s three oldest players all played 32 or more minutes in Wednesday’s loss.

Regardless of who plays, Golden State takes their one-game lead over the 11th-seed Phoenix Suns to Houston for a matchup against the fourth-seeded Rockets, with tip-off scheduled for 8:00 p.m. EST.

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