Mavs’ problems mount: Fall to Clippers, Doncic exits early

Kawhi Leonard had 36 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, leading the Clippers to a 130-122 victory over the Mavericks on Friday night in Orlando, Fla., for a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference firstround series.

Luka Doncic had a tripledouble but also limped off the court after spraining his left ankle in the third quarter. He returned to play a little of the fourth before checking out for good and going back to the locker room area.

The Clippers had been in control for a while by then, using a team-record, 45-point second quarter to build a big lead. And when Dallas cut it to eight midway through the fourth quarter, Leonard responded with a 3-pointer and left-handed dunk on consecutive Clippers possessions to restore a comfortable lead.

Kristaps Porzingis had 34 points and 13 rebounds for the Mavericks. Doncic finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Celtics 102, 76ers 94

Kemba Walker scored 24 points and the Celtics closed with a 10-0 run to beat Philadelphia for a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.

Jaylen Brown had 21 points and Jason Tatum added 15 for the Celtics.

Joel Embiid had 30 points and 13 rebounds to lead the 76ers.

Jazz 124, Nuggets 87

Mike Conley made a career playoff-high seven 3-pointers and scored 27 points in his return from quarantine, helping the Jazz rout the Nuggets for a 2-1 series lead.

Conley left the NBA bubble for the birth of his son and returned Monday night. He went through a four-day quarantine that ended Friday.

Rudy Gobert had a career playoff-high 24 points and 14 rebounds.

Donovan Mitchell added 20 points. He had a Jazz playoff-record 57 in Game 1 and 30 in Game 2.

Nikola Jokic led Denver with 15 points.