The Dallas Mavericks’ 123-93 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday had glaring factors along with players that contributed to the rout, but the night boiled down to this:
Paul George, James Harden and Russell Westbrook: 28 combined points on 8-of-36 shooting with 11 helpers and eight turnovers. Luka Dončić: 35 points on 14-of-26 from the field with 10 assists and only two turnovers.
“I think it was a very big game,” Doncic said. “We win, and now we’ve got to win one out of two. We’ve got to go back to Dallas and play the same way.”
In a crucial Game 5 that could swing the series one way or another, and still missing Kawhi Leonard, who is suffering from knee inflammation, the three Clippers All-Stars charged with spearheading the offense came out like it was a regular-season game, just one of 82, flat and stayed flat while Dončić and the rest of the Mavericks took back control of the series, with a chance to close it out in Game 6 in ‘Big D’, Dallas on Friday (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
“I think it was just the carryover from Game 4, talking about it, watching it,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. “Being able to play with pace on offense, but just doing a good job of taking the 3 out of the game.”
When a team wins Game 5 of a series previously tied 2-2, they move on to the next round 81.7% of the time.
Dončić, once again, was the best player on the floor despite dealing with a sprained right knee from Game 3 as well as an upper respiratory issue, that he has been battling for the last week. He admitted before tipoff he would probably not have played in his condition for a regular-season game, and instead left the Clippers feeling ill.
Embed from Getty ImagesDoncic said his illness made things “tough,” and his knee is “not really good.”
“But you talk about adrenaline in a playoff game,” he added. “Once you get started, you want to do everything you can to help your team win. I just wanted to keep going.”
Maxi Kleber had a bounce-back performance, knocking down 5 triples for 15 points. Kyrie Irving had his moments as well, including the lob for an extremely loud alley-oop.
The game was competitive at the onset, with the teams exchanging the lead 12 times in the first quarter. The Mavericks opened up a small lead in the second quarter, then expanded it to double digits with a quick run late in the first half.
It was the third quarter, however, where everything was decided and the game was truly lost for the Clippers. They were held to only one basket in the first seven minutes while the Mavericks’ offense kept humming, putting the game well out of reach. Both coaches emptied their benches midway through the fourth quarter.
The 30-point margin was the largest loss in Clippers’ playoff history, dating back to their days in San Diego.
“We just didn’t play well all around,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “Defensively, offensively, we just didn’t play a good game. That’s OK. Turn the page.”
It might be unfair to point to one play as proof of a team just not being prepared and having the fight necessary, but there was a particularly play in the third when Irving got a steal off an errant pass from George. The result was a two-on-one fastbreak for Irving and Dončić against Westbrook. Some hard defense by Westbrook blew up the play, but unfortunately, Westbrook was the only Clipper who attempted to run back.
It is an all too familiar place for Clippers Nation, falling behind in a series where they seemed to have a chance, despite missing the player that their offense runs through and staked their contender status upon. They won both games Leonard missed earlier in the series, but Game 5 showed just how difficult it will be to claw back in Games 6 and 7.
If the Mavericks close out the series Friday, Game 5 will go down as the Clippers’ final home game in Crypto.com Arena before moving to the opulent Intuit Dome in Inglewood next season. It would not be a graceful exit.
