Both teams had 5 game winning streaks, but it was clear early on which one would survive.
Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks have been on quite the tear lately, but they finally came up a brick wall against the Los Angeles Clippers. They put up a good fight, but they weren’t able to keep up Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and the rest of the Clippers supporting cast.
To be fair, they tried to keep it close. The first quarter ended 34-27 in favor of the Clippers, and that quarter saw the Mavericks shoot 12 of 13 free throws to keep it close. The second quarter did not go well for the Mavericks, though, and they didn’t manage to break 20 points, getting outscored 28-19.
The first half finished 62-46 for the visitors. The end of the half came with a Leonard three being answered by a half-court shot being made by Kristaps Porzingis.
For the Clippers, it was yet another example of a supremely balanced effort spearheading them to a lead. At the break, Leonard had 13 points, George had 17, and Lou Williams had 12. The team also had 14 assists and 7 steals, with only 5 turnovers. The three point shot was big for them too, and they made 10 of 22 shots from beyond the arc.
Doncic finished the half with what looked like a decent statline: 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. However, he got there while shooting 2 of 9 from the field, 0 of 5 from three with 5 turnovers. He was a perfect 11 of 11 from the line. The Mavericks were careless with the ball overall, with 13 turnovers after two quarters.
A 16 point deficit is tough to deal with, especially against an elite team that is finally at full strength and is starting to put the pieces together. The only time Dallas led was when they were up 3-0 in the first quarter.
The second half didn’t get any better
The second half looked much of the same, with the Clippers taking advantage of more cold shooting from the Mavericks and putting them in a 20 point deficit early in the third – a rare occurrence this season.
The Mavericks simply couldn’t buy a bucket, shooting under 40% from the field. A mini-run saw the home team cut the lead to 14 with 7:27 left, which prompted Doc Rivers to call a timeout to slow things down. They weren’t able to cut the deficit to single digits, though, as their shooting woes continued. Doncic airballed a stepback three with just under 5 minutes left to punctuate their problems.
George, Leonard, and Williams left the game with three minutes left in the game, while they were still up over 20 points. They combined for 75 points.
Doncic left the game for good with just over two minutes left, finishing with 22 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 7 turnovers. He missed all of his threes and finished the game on 4 of 14 shooting. He didn’t get much help from Euro Duo partner Kristaps Porzingis, either. The big man finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds and shot an equally terrible 4 of 13 from the field.
Tough nights are going to happen for up and coming stars. Doncic simply came up short against a much better team. He should bounce back just fine.
The Clippers deserve all the credit for dominating with both their offense and defense, ensuring that the home team never got into a rhythm. This victory puts the Clippers’ streak to six straight games, and pushes them closer to the top of the Western Conference standings.
