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After getting blown by 51 points by the Mavericks(20-18) earlier in the season, you knew the Los Angeles Clippers(26-15) were going to do everything in their power to defeat Dallas on Monday night, and they did.
The Clippers had seven players in double figures, led by Kawhi Leonard, who had 22 points as Los Angeles defeated Dallas 109-99 at American Airlines Center.
Fortunately for Dallas, they have a chance to get revenge against the Clippers, who they’ll face in the second game of their two-game set on Wednesday night.
These two teams battled hard in this game, and according to Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle, Monday’s contest felt like a playoff game.
“This is high-level, playoff-caliber basketball in the middle of March,” Carlisle said. “This is a great challenge for us. We’ll look at the film, we’ll study it, we’ll make some adjustments. Wednesday, we’re going have to do things better.”
Dallas’ Luka Doncic finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and a season-high-tying 16 assists for his 34th career triple-double (9th this season), but he struggled down the stretch.
After being down by as much as 12 points in the fourth quarter, Dallas cut the lead to four(103-99) with a little over three minutes left. However, with a chance to make it a one-possession game, Doncic committed a turnover. Doncic missed a floater on the next possession, and ultimately the Clippers would take control from there. Dallas would not score in the final three minutes of the game.
Doncic committed four of his seven turnovers in the fourth quarter. The third-year guard was not happy with his play in the fourth and felt like this loss was on him, which he discussed after the game.
“You can’t make every shot, obviously,” Doncic said. “But this was on me. I took some terrible shots at mid-court, and that game is on me.
“I lost too many balls. That’s it.”
It did feel like playoff basketball in March, and if you remember, these two teams had a very competitive first-round series last season, in which the Clippers were able to win in six. It’s always fun when these two teams get together, so expect an entertaining game on Wednesday night.
Notes:
Kristaps Porzingis went 9-14 from the field en route to 22 points and 7 rebounds. Over his last 10 games, Porzingis is averaging 22.5 points (.546 FG%, .446 3FG%) and 8.6 rebounds per game. The Mavs are 8-2 in those 10 games.
Tim Hardaway Jr. came off the bench for Dallas and scored 21 points on 8-12 FGs, including 5-9 from deep. Hardaway Jr. has scored in double figures in 16 of his last 19 games, and he has 20+ points in two of his last three appearances.