Just like what they did here, those 3's rain and then Washington's dagger was all the Mavs needed to close out the show and gave them a win. On the other hand, the Warriors are now in a 5 game losing skid, not good for them as they once had the best record in the West.
The Warriors had a rough schedule on the last three. OKC Thunder, Phoenix Suns with Durant back, and the Denver Nuggets with Nikola Jokic having a monster offensive game with 38 points. We all know the Warriors lack defense, especially against teams with either a big man as their key player or a better offensive team than them.
The bigger question is how they will bounce back as they are now tied with the Suns in the 6th and 7th spots. With KD doing his normal thing, the Suns will probably put a gap between them and it will become another problem for the Warriors trying to get a spot for the playoffs. They need hungry players who will win games.
Just a few weeks ago, they're at the top spot of the West but after losing 5 straight games, they are now at the 7th, enough to be at the play-in tournament. This just shows how competitive the West is right now. It already come to a point were losing even just 5 or even 3 consecutive games can put you from the top of the standings to the bottom. The race on the West is tight compared to the East.
As for their defense, they're 8th currently and 3rd in FG % defense (based on FoxSports), so I don't think there's a problem in their defense. What I see is that they just had a bad night especially against Phoenix. The game is close against OKC and Denver though. If there's a problem with their defense, I guess it's probably because Melton is out for the whole season because of an injury, and he's a great defender ever since. Their next 5 games will be a bit tough because they'll be facing the Rockets (twice), the Timberwolves (twice) and Memphis.
I believe that they have the capability to be at the top again. I mean they have the players they need on both offense and defense. Let's just see how they will play in their next games.