National Basketball Association

Kawhi Leonard, Paul George lead Clippers to Game 3 victory

Updated May. 29, 2021 1:18 a.m. ET

Pressure bursts pipes, but adversity also reveals character.

And with their backs against the wall and all of the pressure on them, the LA Clippers delivered a huge win on Friday night, a 118-108 triumph over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3 that narrowed their deficit in the first-round series to 2-1.

The Clippers shot 58% from the field and 42% from 3-point range to pull out the gutsy road win, all while Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić went off for 44 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists.

This is now officially a series.

Let's take a look at what happened.

Key performers: Kawhi Leonard and Paul George

A Game 3 loss could have signaled the beginning of the end for this duo in Southern California.

But based on their performance on Friday night, Leonard and George might not be ready for their time together to end just yet.

The tandem combined for 65 points and might be showing that they aren't quite the same team that folded in its last postseason series, when the Clippers let the Denver Nuggets come back from a 3-1 deficit.

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Turning point: Rick Carlisle pulling Luka Dončić early

This game had all of the makings of a rout for the Mavericks early, when Dallas jumped out to a 30-11 lead behind 11 early points from their franchise player Dončić.

But with a 19-point lead midway through the first quarter, Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle pulled Dončić from the game. The Clippers immediately rallied to cut the Mavericks' lead to one point at the end of the first quarter.

Wild card: Marcus Morris Sr.

It had not been a good start to this series for Morris Sr., who shot 47.3% in the regular season but scored just 13 points on 2-for-11 shooting from 3-point range in the first two games of the series.

But he came through when the Clippers needed him on Friday, as one of their key role players answered the call in a major way.

Morris shot 6-for-9 from the field and 3-for-5 from 3-point range to score 15 points, looking like the player who helped the Clippers post the NBA's best 3-point shooting team in league history this season.

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Twitter's take:

Did you know?

The Clippers had lost their previous five playoff games dating back to last postseason. This win snapped that losing streak.

What's next:

The Clippers and Mavericks will do battle in Dallas again in Game 4 at 9:30 p.m. ET Sunday on TNT.

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