Leonard, Clippers oust Dallas in Game 7
Home team nabs first win of series
LOS ANGELES — Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points, Marcus Morris added 23, and the Los Angeles Clippers finally won at home, finishing off the Dallas Mavericks 126-111 on Sunday in Game 7 of the first-round playoff series.
Playing in front of a small but noisy mix of masked fans and cardboard cutouts, the Clippers did what neither team had pulled off in the first six games — win at home. It was the first time in NBA history the road team won the first six games of a playoff series.
Los Angeles became the fifth team in league history to lose the first two games at home and come back to win a playoff series.
“It was a great win for us,” said Tyronn Lue, who improved to 4-0 in Game 7s of his coaching career. “It showed a lot about our team.”
The fourth-seeded Clippers advanced to the Western Conference semifinals for the second straight year. They’ll play top-seeded Utah starting Tuesday in Salt Lake City.
Luka Doncic had 46 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds for the fifth-seeded Mavs, who have yet to win a playoff series since capturing the NBA title in 2011. He finished the series with 250 points, 72 assists and 55 rebounds.
Paul George added 22 points, 10 assists and six rebounds for the Clippers. Their backups outscored Dallas’ reserves 27-6, getting key contributions from Terance Mann (13 points) and Luke Kennard (11 points). Kennard had played just four minutes earlier in the series.
Trailing by eight at halftime, the Mavs outscored the Clippers 19-6 to open the third and go up 81-76. Doncic had just two points in the run, with Dorian Finney-smith hitting two 3-pointers and
Tim Hardaway Jr. adding another. Finney-smith totaled 18 points and 10 rebounds.
■ Hawks 128, 76ers 124:
At Philadelphia, Trae Young scored 25 of his 35 points before intermission and totaled 10 assists for fifth-seeded Atlanta, which took control with a 17-0 first-half run in the series opener.
Bogdan Bogdanovic and John Collins each had 21 points for the Hawks, who made 14 of their first 18 shots. They are 33-12 since Nate Mcmillan took over for fired coach Lloyd Pierce.
Joel Embiid scored 39 points, Tobias Harris 20 and Ben Simmons 17 for top-seeded Philadelphia, which got as close as three points with 1:01 left on consecutive baskets by Embiid. Bogdanovic answered with a 3-pointer.