The reason the Dallas Mavericks lost Game 1, 112-87, to the Golden State Warriors is not a secret.

Dallas didn't shoot the ball well, and the spacing — and Luka Doncic —  suffered because of it.

"We were 11-for-48 from three and maybe eight of those are bad [shots]," Spencer Dinwiddie, who scored 17 points in Game 1, said. "Five more threes [equals] 15 more points. During the game, we were down about 20, which puts us back in the game.”

All season, Dallas has often gone as its 3-point shot has. Dallas ' offense is seemingly unstoppable in games when Dorian Finney-Smith, Reggie Bullock, Maxi Kleber and Davis Bertans are making defenders pay for overhelping on Doncic's drives to the basket.

So, it's no surprise that, on a night when Dallas didn't shoot well, Doncic struggled to score. He finished Game 1 with 20 points and seven turnovers. He was a minus-30 while on the floor. And he looked out of sorts in the second half of the game, only scoring two points total.

When the role players aren't shooting well, teams — and in this case the Warriors — can pack the paint, switch everything and eliminate Doncic's best asset, his playmaking.

"We've got to make shots," Jason Kidd said on Thursday following the team's practice. "If we’re not going to make shots against the Warriors it’s going to be a long, long night."

In terms of primary offenders, Doncic shot 3-of-10 from three, Bullock shot 3-for-10, Kleber shot 1-of-4, Finney-Smith shot 1-of-3 and Bertans shot 0-of-4.

The offense went ugly, quick. And after Game 1, it's clear Dallas needs to generate quality looks, again, that gives chances to its role players to make the shots they practice.

What is the secret to Dallas making more shots? 

Shocking enough, the secret to Dallas finding its stroke from behind the arc is simple — do exactly what got it here.

That means, the Mavericks must control the pace of play, making the Warriors curve their natural play style to accommodate a more methodical Doncic-led offensive approach.

Then, all it comes down to is the role players finding confidence in the looks Doncic will create for them within halfcourt sets and in transition.

"Our guys have been making those shots all year," Bullock said of making shots within the flow of the offense. "It’s just a matter of finding our rhythm here.”

Dallas has been down 1-0 in every series during this postseason. This isn't uncharted territory, though it is the Western Conference Finals. The Mavericks know how to bounce back. And rarely does the offense have two bad games in a row.

To steal Game 2 in San Fransico, it starts by making the shots Dallas made to get this far.

"We got a lot of open three-point shots," Bullock said. "So it’s still a confidence builder for us to be able to go into the next game to be able to shoot the same shots.”

Related Dallas Mavericks reading 

"Mavericks: Dallas gets schooled in what it means to play in the conference finals." 

"Mavericks: Dallas advances to the Western Conference Finals, thank Spencer Dinwiddie." 

Feature image via Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports