Luka Doncic dominates Clippers to guide Mavericks to Game 1 triumph
The LA Clippers and Dallas Mavericks squared off in a riveting Western Conference first-round matchup last season, and this year, it looks like it will be much of the same.
The Mavs came out with a 113-103 win over the Clippers on Saturday behind Luka Doncic's third triple-double in seven career playoff games.
Let's take a look at how the Mavericks stole Game 1 on the Clippers' home floor:
Key performer: Luka Doncic
It isn't often that one team has a two-time NBA champion and two-time NBA Finals MVP in his prime – Kawhi Leonard – and it's still unclear if he is the best player on the floor or in the series.
Such is the case in this Clippers-Mavericks first-round matchup, considering that Doncic was so deep in his bag in Game 1.
Doncic, in short, was toying with the Clippers for a majority of the day, scoring 21 points in the first half and finishing with 31 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
It looked like Doncic might have been cruising toward a 40-point performance, but the Clippers adjusted in the second half, often denying him full court and double-teaming him once he crossed half court.
Doncic, however, adjusted as well, finding his teammates for wide-open shots and helping push Dallas past the finish line in the end.
Turning point: The Clippers can't close
The Clippers started the fourth quarter with an 86-80 lead, but with 3:12 left, the game was tied at 100.
That's when things fell apart for LA.
LA went 1-for-6 from the field and 1-for-4 from the line in the final three minutes, while Dallas shot 3-for-5 from the field and 6-for-6 from the line, finishing the day on a 13-3 run.
Wild card: Jury still out on Paul George
Paul George was somewhere between mediocre and good Saturday.
He put up 23 points, six rebounds and five assists and shot a respectable 8-for-18 from the field, even though he was 2-for-8 from distance.
It still proved to be an up-and-down day for the mercurial superstar. Case in point: He missed all three of his field-goal attempts in the first frame, made one of four in the second, hit three of four shots in the third quarter and made four of seven shots in the fourth, scoring the Clippers' only basket in the final three minutes.
His running mate, Leonard, shot just 4-for-12 in the second half after scoring 17 in the first half. He ended the day with 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on 9-for-22 shooting.
Twitter's take:
Did you know?
The Mavs snapped a six-game losing streak in postseason Game 1s. Saturday was Dallas' first win in Game 1 of a playoff series since the 2011 Western Conference finals.
What's next?
Dallas and LA will take the floor for Game 2 at 10:30 p.m. ET Tuesday at Staples Center. In franchise history, only once have the Clippers won a playoff series after losing Game 1 (1-7), and they have never won a playoff series after trailing 2-0 (0-3).
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