A spectacular
Luka Doncic
, with 42 points, who could not be stopped by neither
Paul George
nor
Kawhi Leonard
, catapulted the
Dallas Mavericks
to victory
against the
Los Angeles Clippers
who lost all the scoring ability that they had shown just two days ago in the home of the Texan team.
Doncic
also got 42 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 steals.
And he made 6 of the 11 triples he tried.
Four other Mavs players scored more than 10 points.
Tim Hardaway Jr
.
finished the night with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 1 assist.
Meanwhile,
Kristaps Porzingis
had a more low-key night with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
The best player for the
Clippers
was
Paul George
, with 28 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal, followed by
Leonard
, with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals.
Center
Ivica Zubac
had another good night with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.
After the
Mavericks'
loss to the
Clippers
on the same stage
on Monday
, the American Airlines Center in Dallas, 99-109, the team of
Luka Doncic
and
Kristaps Porzingis
, hoped they had learned their lesson after studying the videos of the game.
For their part, the Californians, who on Wednesday also could not count on two of their starters,
Serge Ibak
with back problems and
Patrick Beverley
with an injured knee, were betting on the same strategy that allowed them to avenge the beat that the Mavs gave him. they gave at the end of December, when they lost in Los Angeles 73-124.
One of the keys to Monday's game was the performance of Clippers pivot
Ivica Zubac
, who started due to the loss of Ibaka, who scored 15 points and 11 rebounds against Dallas' team.
The other key was that seven Clippers players made more than 10 points, including
Kawhi Leonard's
22
and
Paul George's
15
.
The lesson for the Dallas was simple: better defense that prevented
Clippers
players from
scoring so easily, and better shot selection, as in the final 3.15 minutes of the game, the
Mavericks
were unable to score a single point.
The match started on an equal footing.
To the initial triples of Porzingis and Doncic,
Marcus Morris
and
Zubac
responded with baskets
to maintain a certain parity on the scoreboard.
But from those beginnings
Doncic
made it clear that he was especially motivated.
A triple, a steal, 3 assists and 5 points in the first six minutes of the game were a declaration of intent.
Still, the
Clippers
held on until in the first rotation, Doncic went to the bench at 16-15 and the Los Angeles coach kept Leonard and Kawhi on the court.
Without
Luka
on the track, the
Clippers led
16-20.
As soon as he got back on the court with 2.41 remaining to the end of the first quarter, the Slovenian scored a triple that tied the game 21-21.
But without input from their teammates, who didn't score a single point in the final three minutes, the
Clippers
finished the fourth 24-29 ahead.
In the second quarter, the
Clippers
seemed determined to ground through.
Zubac
and
George
worked, with the Croatian center scoring the assists that the forward provided him.
Thanks to these combinations, the Clippers were 7 points ahead, 28-35.
But
Luka
stepped on the gas, this time accompanied by Tim Hardaway Jr. who scored 7 points in the first four minutes and allowed the Mavs to tie the game 40-40.
It was the last time the two teams were paired.
Inspired by
Doncic
, the Mavs, with a Josh Richardson who caught
Doncic's
scoring efficiency
and scored 10 points in that period, took off step by step from the Clippers without Leonard or George being able to do anything to prevent it.
The break was reached with a 56-51 on the scoreboard.
At that time,
Doncic
already had 22 points and 4 assists while George was the best of the Clippers, with 14 points and 4 assists.
After the break,
the Mavs
didn't slacken on defense or offense.
An
unleashed
Doncic
amused himself by providing alley-oops, shooting three-foot three-pointers behind the three-point line, or simply smashing into a tangle of arms.
In the third quarter, the Dallas team did just enough to increase the gap on the scoreboard by one point, 77-71, while in the Clippers Leonard was deflated and only George was able to keep up.
In the last 12 minutes,
Doncic
did his thing again and with a few minutes to go to the end of the game, the Slovenian starred in a play that was the summary of the night.
With
George,
one of the best defenders in the league, glued to his side, Doncic dribbles the ball, threatens a penetration, passes the ball down his back from right to left and ends the play with a floating basket while George contemplates the action from the ground, unable to keep up with Luka.
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