Clippers get past Mavs rallying behind Kawhi Leonard’s 36 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. Defensive tweaks for the Clippers allow them to suppress the Dallas Mavericks offense. Drama for the Mavs as their star Luka Doncic sprained his left ankle forcing him out of the game. Porzingis carried the load in Doncic’s absence as he had a double-double with 34 points and 13 rebounds. Kawhi had the team on his back again as Paul George carried over his bad offensive play from Game 2. The myth of Playoff P is still just that, as Paul George ended the night with only 11 points making only one of eight three point attempts. Clippers now lead the Mavs in the series as they get the win Friday night to go 2-1.
The first half began neck and neck between the two times as they were trading baskets back and forth. Both teams were playing with intensity which translated into some chippy interactions between Luka Doncic and Montrezl Harrell. This would earn techs for each player involved. After the 1st quarter, Clippers proved to be unphased by anything the Mavs threw at them. Which wasn’t much early on as usual offensive heavyweight, Luka Doncic, could not take advantage of a handful of free throw attempts to close the half. Clippers on the other hand were able to sink their shots and extended their lead to 68-54 at the end of two.
Second Half
In the second half, Clippers continued to play great offensively ending the game shooting 52% from the field. Their defense being the underrated factor that helped them seal the win. Especially on the perimeter which minimized the three point damage from the Mavericks. The Mavs were able to bring the Clippers lead to within 8 before Kawhi took care of business. Kawhi now with 100 points in his first three playoff games for the Clippers, a franchise record. He was not completely alone though as he was one of 7 Clippers players to be in double digits. Doncic tried to get the Mavs to continue to compete attempting to play through his left ankle sprain but would be sat in the fourth for good.
Even after Lukas departure, Mavs were able to create some offense and go on an early 12-5 run in the fourth. Seth Curry and Tim Hardaway kept the Mavs afloat both having ended the night with 22 points. However, Mavs momentum would be put to a halt each time in the 4th quarter as Kawhi could not be stopped. The Clippers’ poor defense in Game 2 was able to give Mavs the opportunity to steal the game, this time they were not so lucky. After the game, Kawhi said, “We thought we didn’t come out physically early on in Game 2 so we wanted to come out and guard”. The Clippers did just that as they were able to hold off the Mavs in the end 130-122.
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