GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS guard Chris Paul called it the best defensive play he had seen in his 19-year career.

With 1:30 left in the fourth quarter against the Dallas Mavericks on April 2 and the Warriors holding a 98-92 lead, Mavericks guard Luka Doncic feigned a dribble penetration from the top of the 3-point line before dishing the ball to guard Kyrie Irving. As Warriors forward Draymond Green roamed the paint, Irving sidestepped the defending Andrew Wiggins, took two steps toward Green and then passed to center Daniel Gafford near the baseline.

Just as quickly, Green changed his positioning and met Gafford at the rim for a spectacular two-handed block. Green ripped the rebound away from Irving, firing up the Chase Center crowd, with the Warriors then holding on for a 104-100 win.

“We’re starting to understand that defense is going to be what we have to hang our hat on,” Paul said after the game. “Then on offense, we of course have amazing shooters and scorers. But when we defend, it opens everything else up.”

The team has fought through several on-court issues this season, including Green’s suspensions and late-game struggles, Stephen Curry’s drop in offensive production since the All-Star break and Thompson finishing the regular season with his lowest scoring average since 2013-14.

But the victory against Dallas was part of a six-game win streak fueled by an improved defense led by Green and the emergence of rookie center Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Golden State enters Tuesday’s play-in tournament game against the Sacramento Kings with nine wins in its past 11 games. The Warriors also boast the league’s seventh-best defense since the All-Star break and are fifth in defensive efficiency since Jackson-Davis entered the starting lineup March 27.

The Warriors’ road back to the playoffs remains tough. They’ll need to win back-to-back road games just to secure a first-round series against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.