The Los Angeles Clippers had won the first game of the series and had the expected reappearance of their best man, Kawhi Leonard, for the second game at home. But Luka Doncic made it clear Tuesday night that he is on a mission with the Dallas Mavericks in these NBA playoffs.
Luka Doncic, playing angry much of the night, scored 32 points to lead the Mavericks to a 96-93 victory over the Clippers and even the first-round series at 1-1.
Leonard had 15 points (7 of 17) in 35 minutes, but The Clippers shot only 37% from the field and just 8 of 30 from three-point range.
The Clippers, with their four future Hall of Famers on the court, all born in Los Angeles (Leonard, James Harden, Paul George and Russell Westbrook)are trying to go truly far in the NBA playoffs for the first time in their history.
Doncic, in turn, is looking to reach the NBA Finals for the first time. He doesn’t seem to have enough talent around him to challenge for the title. In any case, he is a very tough opponent for the Clippers in a first-round series.
“I think they are all good, good defenders,” Doncic told La Opinión in a press conference about facing the Clippers’ big four. “I like having challenges. In the end we have to win the game, we have done that, but I like having challenges.”
Doncic, master of the court in game 2 against Clippers
Throughout this game, Doncic was guarded by each of the Clippers’ big four; They were good individual duels, intense, and in the end the Slovenian player got the better of despite a night in which scoring was not easy for anyone: he made 11 of 26 field goals (5 of 14 in triples), with 6 rebounds and 9 assists.
Leonard had not played since March 31 due to inflammation in his right knee. The Clippers still won the series opener 109-97.
The Clippers got hot in the first minutes of the fourth quarter, fueled by a spectacular block by Russell Westbrook on Dereck Lively.
But Doncic broke a 73-all tie with a triple with 7:01 left in the game and celebrated with fury. The Slovenian star was angry with the referees for a series of plays that he considered had not scored in his favor. Kyrie Irving (23 points) followed with five points for Dallas, which broke away there.
The Clippers managed to get within three points, but Doncic hit them with a triple with 1:26 left for an irreversible 90-81. Dallas handled the rest of the game well. An offensive rebound by the Mavericks after missing a free throw in the final seconds sealed the victory.
Defensive battle in Los Angeles between Clippers and Mavericks
In a game in which the points did not come easily, The Clippers reached 50 until midway through the third quarter after a Paul George triplewith which he became the franchise’s all-time leader in triples in the postseason.
The score after three quarters was 66-65 in favor of Los Angeles after a technical foul was charged against Doncic for claiming a foul while scoring.
Dallas had gone into halftime up 45-41 with 18 points from Doncic, who however missed 6 of his 8 three-point attempts in those first 24 minutes of action.
Game 3 of the best-of-seven series will be Friday in Dallas.
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