Warriors cruise

From the first 3-pointer to the last dramatic dunk, Baron Davis and his Warriors remained golden at home in the playoffs.

Davis had 32 points and nine assists, Jason Richardson scored 25 points and Golden State stayed unbeaten in Oakland during the postseason with a 125-105 victory over the Jazz in Game 3 of their second-round series Friday night, cutting Utah’s lead to 2-1.

Richardson hit four of the Warriors’ NBA record-tying 11 3-pointers in the first half, and Al Harrington added 15 points as Golden State shrugged off two tough losses in Utah with yet another confident, free-flowing performance. The Warriors finished with 15 3-pointers while forcing 25 Utah turnovers.

Davis’ brilliance finally ended a comfortable victory in the rocking arena where the Warriors beat top-seeded Dallas three times in the first round to the same 110-decibel soundtrack.

“He was pretty sensational, wasn’t he?” Warriors coach Don Nelson asked. “I’ve seen it a time or two here or there … but the plays he made, the dominance he created on both ends of the floor – just tons of stuff you wish everybody would be able to do, but not many can.”

Game 4 in the best-of-7 series is Sunday night in Oakland, with Game 5 back in Salt Lake City on Tuesday.

After Utah cut Golden State’s 30-point lead in half during the fourth quarter, Davis closed the door, punctuating yet another memorable spring night with a vicious one-handed dunk into the mug of shot-blocking specialist Andrei Kirilenko with 2:48 left.

“It was like he put his whole body in the rim,” Richardson marveled.

Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz, who landed gracelessly in California after riding high from Wednesday’s emotional overtime victory in Game 2. Deron Williams added 14 points and six assists, but Golden State stretched its 21-point halftime lead to 30 midway through the third quarter before the Jazz finally responded.

Notes

Dirk Nowitzki has been chosen as the NBA’s MVP for leading the Dallas Mavericks to one of the best regular seasons in league history, a team official told The Associated Press. The formal announcement will come Tuesday at a news conference, said the team official, who requested anonymity because the announcement is pending. Voting was completed before the playoffs. … Dallas exercised its option on center DeSagana Diop, keeping him with the team for the third and final year on his contract.