Clippers upend Mavs, cut series deficit to 2-1
DALLAS — Kawhi Leonard scored 36 points, Paul George added 29, and the Los Angeles Clippers spoiled Luka Doncic’s home playoff debut, beating the Dallas Mavericks 118-108 on Friday to cut their series deficit to 2-1.
The Clippers bounced back from two losses at home by withstanding a huge early surge by the Mavericks in front of their biggest — and loudest — crowd by far this season.
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 went up 30-11.
Los Angeles’ 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.
The Clippers ended a five-game postseason skid dating to last year’s Florida playoff bubble, when Los Angeles 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-for-13 shooting.
The first home playoff game for the Mavs in five years also was the first at American Airlines Center for everyone on their roster except Dwight Powell, who played just three minutes late. The nerves might have shown.
■ Celtics 125, Nets 119: At Boston, Jayson Tatum scored a playoff career-high 50 points for Boston, which overcame a 15-point first-half hole and cut its series deficit to 2-1.
James Harden scored 41 points and Kevin Durant 39 for Brooklyn. Kyrie Irving, in his first gme in front of Boston’s fans since he left the Celtics via free agency in 2019, had 16 points on 6-for-17 shooting.
The Nets cut a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit to five with a minute left before Tatum hit a clinching step-back jumper.
■ Hawks 105, Knicks 94: At Atlanta, Trae Young had 21 points and 14 rebounds in his first home playoff game for Atlanta, which took a 2-1 series lead.
Derrick Rose scored 30 points to lead New York, which trailed 58-44 at intermission. The Knicks didn’t get within 10 points in the second half.
Julius Randle mustered 14 points on 2-for-15 shooting for New York and has made just 13 of 54 shots in the series.