Moving on in playoffs
The Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard drives past the Mavericks’ Trey Burke and Luka Doncic on Sunday. The Clippers won to close out the NBA firstround series. Story,
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Los Angeles Clippers knocked him around and shut his teammates down, and still Luka Doncic kept coming.
Kawhi Leonard wasn’t worried, because nothing rattles him in the postseason.
“This is playoff basketball, and everything is not going to go your way,” Leonard said. “You’re going to have downs and ups. Just got to keep playing.”
Now his team will keep playing into the second round.
Leonard had 33 points and 14 rebounds and the Clippers eliminated Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks with a 11197 victory Sunday in Game 6 of the Western Conference bestofseven firstround series.
Doncic capped a superb first postseason with 38 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, keeping it interesting into the fourth quarter even while playing without injured teammate Kristaps Porzingis.
But with Leonard reaching the 30point mark for a fifth straight playoff game and a strong defensive effort, the Clippers simply had too many answers.
“I’m proud of our team, how we fight,” Doncic said. “I think we fight until the end. The Clippers have an amazing team so it was hard, but I think we gave everything.”
Nuggets 119, Jazz 107: The Jamal MurrayDonovan
Mitchell duel will be settled in the first Game 7 in the bubble. Murray extended his torrid run with 50 points, allowing Denver to tie the West firstround series 33.
Murray had his second 50point game of the series to equal Mitchell, who finished with 44 in this one. They will go at it one more time Tuesday, with the winner advancing to face the Clippers.
Denver is trying to become the 12th team to rally from a 31 deficit to win a series.
Celtics 112, Raptors 94: Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart each scored 21 points, Kemba Walker added 18 points and 10 assists and Boston did not trail in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
“You got a team like Toronto, the defending champs, a really, really good team and they know what it takes … you have to be locked in even more,” Smart said. “And that’s just (what) we try to come out and do.”