Momentum continues to shift in unpredictable Clippers-Mavericks series
Have the LA Clippers officially proven that they were written off too soon?
It's possible, as the Clippers, who were down 0-2 in their first-round series with the Dallas Mavericks, find themselves tied 2-2 after a 106-81 blowout win in Game 4.
In the previous two games, LA superstars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have been on the rise, while Dallas’ wunderkind of a point guard, Luka Dončić, was on the decline as of Sunday.
Dončić, who was already dealing with a neck strain, wore medical strips on his left shoulder throughout Game 4 and was seen nursing said shoulder from the sideline. The 22-year-old superstar was held to 19 points on just 9-for-24 shooting in 36 minutes.
He went 1-for-7 from the 3-point line and 0-for-5 at the free-throw line.
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George and Leonard were on a much different path. The duo came together for 35 points in the first half to help the Clippers build an early 19-point lead. George ended the night with 20 points, while Leonard went 11-for-15 shooting for a game-high 29 points and added 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
They say a series doesn't start until the home team loses, but what about when the road team can't lose?
On Monday’s "Undisputed," NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe tried to make sense of it while reacting to Leonard's and George’s performances in the Clippers' Game 4 triumph.
"Kawhi has been spectacular," Sharpe began. "Paul George has been spectacular alongside [him] … Luka isn’t the greatest free-throw shooter, but there’s no way somebody can shoot better from the 3-point line than they can from the free-throw line. … The only thing that’s different is the shots the Clippers missed the first two games, they’re making. The shots that the Mavs made the first two games, they’re missing. … It was the two big guns."
Games 1 and 2 told a very different story than Games 3 and 4, and it all comes down to shooting.
In the first two games, the Mavs shot a blistering 54.4% from the field and an even more blistering 50% from 3, connecting on 35 of 70 from distance, all on the Clippers' home floor.
Meanwhile, LA shot 48.8% from the field and 33.5% from 3.
Things changed in Game 3, after the Mavs and Clippers made their way to Dallas.
Even though the Mavs stayed hot from 3, connecting on 20 of 39 attempts, they shot only 44.2% from the field, while LA shot 57.9% from the field and 41.9% from 3. In Sunday's Game 4, the bottom fell out for Dallas, as it shot 34.8% from the field and 16.7% from 3, making only five of its 30 attempts.
Skip Bayless said Monday that things changed for the Clippers when they began to take the game personally, aided by Dončić's domination – and taunting – of the team early in the series.
"I believe that the LA Clippers finally got sick and tired of Luka laughing at them. He literally, at Staples in Games 1 and 2, he goes up the floor chuckling. … He’s trash-talking, ‘You can’t guard me.’ … Deep down, I do think the Clippers have some toughness to them."
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However, while LA clearly has the momentum heading into Game 5, on Monday's "First Things First," Nick Wright shared his thoughts on why the Clippers aren’t out of the woods yet and broke down what to make of the series moving forward.
"There's pressure on them again. They are the favorites in the series again … which is why I expect them to revert back in very short order to Clippers playoff basketball, which is playing tight, not getting any contribution from the role players and just relying on Kawhi to be otherworldly, which, to his credit, he has been through four games this series.
"I think [the Clippers] are still in huge trouble, and I think that Luka is going to prove to be the best player in this series, despite the fact that [on Sunday], he had only, I would argue, the first bad playoff game of his career."
The biggest key in Wednesday's Game 5 could be the health of Dončić, who, according to his coach, is currently able to look in only one direction.
Even if he can turn only to the left, it will still be on the Mavs' superstar to right the ship – or else Kawhi and the Clippers just might make their way right into the second round.
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