Clippers spoil Mavs’ party, 118-108, to get back in series
DALLAS (PR)
(AP) — Don’t count out Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers just yet.
Not even a raucous party atmosphere and big early Dallas lead in Luka Doncic’s home playoff debut could keep the Clippers from getting back in a first-round series after a two-game flop in LA.
Leonard scored 36 points and George had 22 of his 29 points in the first half to help the Clippers recover from another slow start in a 118-108 victory Friday night. Dallas takes a 2-1 series lead into Game 4 on Sunday night.
“It’s just adversity,” said George, who combined with Leonard to make 24 of 35 shots as LA finished at 58%. “You’ve got to deal with adversity. We didn’t get down on ourselves. We just stayed positive. We rallied. We toughed it out. We just stuck to our principles, kept playing.”
Doncic fed the frenzy of 17,705 fans, more than three times the size of any crowd in a season that started with an empty arena, by making his first four shots, three of them 3-pointers, on his way to a playoff career-high 44 points as Dallas took a 3011 lead.
LA’s 14-0 run erased most of the deficit before the end of the first quarter, and George gave the Clippers their first lead on a 3-pointer in the second quarter as they answered two losses at home to start the series.
“Just stay the course,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “They came out, the crowd was electric. The fans gave them a lot of juice early. Let’s just stick with the game plan. Luka’s going to hit some shots early, which he always does.”
The Clippers ended a five-game postseason losing streak going back to last year’s Florida playoff bubble, when LA beat Dallas in six games in the first round before blowing a 3-1 lead in the second round against Denver.
Leonard made his first eight shots — three of them on the 14-0 run that quieted the crowd — and George scored 22 points before halftime on 10-of-13 shooting.
By then, most of the fans were finally sitting after most of them stood, and screamed, the entire first quarter. The Clippers answered any effort by the Mavericks to whip them back into a frenzy late in the first game resembling a full American Airlines Center since March 11, 2020, the night the coronavirus shut down the NBA.
“I wish we could give them a win,” said Doncic, who had nine rebounds and nine assists. “But we’ll try again Sunday, and hopefully with the same ener gy.”
Marcus Morris hit three corner 3s in front of the Dallas bench in the fourth quarter to help the Clippers stay comfortably in front.
Morris turned to talk to the Dallas players a little more with each make, finally getting a technical on the third one after giving LA a 112-100 lead with less than four minutes remaining. He fouled out moments later but had already done his damage with nine of his 15 points in the fourth.
“They had a great night and we did not,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “The crowd was great. They were into it. We’ve got to get them more into it by finding ways to get more stops and rebounds.”
The first home playoff game for the Mavericks in five years was also the first at American Airlines Center for everyone on their roster except Dwight Powell, who played just three minutes late.