Leonard, Clippers top Doncic, Mavs

DALLAS — Paul George scored 17 of his 26 points in the first quarter, Kawhi Leonard finished with 28 and the Los Angeles Clippers took control early in a meeting of teams with matching five-game winning streaks, beating the Dallas Mavericks 114-99 on Tuesday night.

The Clippers used several defenders to end Luka Doncic’s franchise-record streak of four games with at least 30 points and 10 assists. George had a career-high six steals as Los Angeles held the Mavericks under 100 points for the first time this season.

The Clippers limited the 20-year-old phenom to 4-of-13 shooting, including 0 for 7 from 3-point range. The Slovenian star made 14 of 16 free throws and finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Patrick Beverley got in foul trouble as one of the defenders assigned to Doncic, but getting his fourth early in the second half just brought back Lou

Williams sooner. The highscoring reserve finished with 21 points, going 4 of 7 on 3-pointers.

The Mavericks had taken the Southwest Division lead with a win at Houston for their fifth straight victory, but the expected title contenders from LA offered a dose of reality for a team looking to end a three-season run without reaching the playoffs.

Dallas was trailing by three when Doncic joined the rest of the starters on the bench in the final minute of the first quarter. By the time those five came back together in the second quarter, the Los Angeles lead was 48-32.

NUGGETS 117, WIZARDS 104

Nikola Jokic had a season-high 20 rebounds and Jerami Grant added a season-best 20 points to lead host Denver. Bradley Beal, the Wizards’ leading scorer averaging 29.6 points, was held to 14 points.