The Clippers lastly tied the game at 57 with 2:49 staying. Dallas responded and closed the half well, drawing 3rd fouls on both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George as the Mavericks kept assaulting the rim and kicking out for 3s. The Mavericks put in 12 3s, the most in a half in Dallas playoffs history, and took a 69-66 lead into the half.
Both teams began remarkably cold in the 3rd, with neither scoring until a Luka Doncic short jumper 2 and a half minutes in. Then, the referees chose to change the course of the video game: following a Doncic turnover, Marcus Morris took part in some additional contact which Doncic took offense to. The officials let it go and things intensified. Kristaps Porzingis went into the scrum and following some pushing, the refs decided to release both he and Morris technicals, which suggested Porzingis was ejected from the game. Dallas was currently cold to start the game, but the ejection seemed to sap them of energy, as their hot shooting cooled all the way off. The Mavericks scored just 13 points in the frame and got in the tracking the Clippers by 5, 87-82.
Its difficult to imagine an even worse start to the NBA Playoffs for the Dallas Mavericks than what they withstood in the opening minutes. After finding Los Angeles a 16 point lead something odd occurred: the Mavericks began to make shots. Luka Doncic re-entered the game and Dallas kept coming, including 2 huge 3s from Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
The Dallas Mavericks was up to the Los Angeles Clippers in the video game one of their preliminary series Monday night, 118-110. Kawhi Leonard gathered 29 with Paul George adding 27 in success. Luka Doncic led the Mavericks in defeat with 42 points, a record for a playoff debut.
The Mavericks might not capitalize enough on miscues from the Clippers, and eventually LAs depth and talent was too much for Dallas late. The Mavericks made the Clippers very uneasy, however fell 118-110.
Hot shooting and remarkably outstanding defense from the Mavericks enhanced the 4 point lead up to a 16 point lead by the 7:30 mark, topping off a 48-18 run. The Clippers responded with a 9-0 run of their own, bolstered by back-to-back ownerships where Porzingis got hammered at the rim resulting in a no-call followed by Porzingis obstructing Paul George at the rim and getting called for a nasty.
Now, some thoughts:
The full Luka Doncic experience
42 points seven rebounds, nine helps, and eleven turnovers is quite the stat line. Doncic appeared like a train wreck early however restored his senses and played a strong video game. Hell require to clean up the turnovers but hell likewise need to see what passes were there that he could not see. Passes to the roll guy were non-existent for Doncic tonight, and by the 3rd quarter he appeared to stop looking. Dallas needs to discover methods to get him simpler looks, however that might be difficult thinking about how much length the Clippers have. The other Mavericks, meanwhile (as normal), need to strike a few more open looks.
Too numerous turnovers
The Mavericks had 13 turnovers in the first half, including four in the first three minutes of policy. They ended up with 21 on the video game. Dallas has actually protected the ball well all season, averaging 12.7 turnovers per video game, so the consistent miscues provided frustration and an essential consider the loss. Though Doncic had 11 all by himself, the 3 turnovers from Kleber and 2 for Finney-Smith were out of character. To have any chance in this series, the Mavericks need to tidy up around the edges.
Dorian Finney-Smith and Maxi Kleber need to contribute more
The Mavericks could not capitalize enough on miscues from the Clippers, and eventually LAs depth and talent was too much for Dallas late.
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Much is asked of these two undrafted gamers, each of whom has earned his keep at the NBA level. They are each excellent players, but if Dallas desires to take on the Clippers, Finney-Smith and Kleber will need to find more to offer.
Dallas reacted and closed the half well, drawing 3rd fouls on both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George as the Mavericks kept kicking and assaulting the rim out for 3s. The Mavericks put in 12 threes, the most in a half in Dallas playoffs history, and took a 69-66 lead into the half.
The Dallas Mavericks fell to the Los Angeles Clippers in the game one of their first round series Monday night, 118-110. Luka Doncic led the Mavericks in defeat with 42 points, a record for a playoff launching.
Things went bad for Kleber from the start, when he turned the ball over to Patrick Beverley following the suggestion. From there things went mainly downhill, with some offensive miscues, bad defense sometimes, out of position on rebounding and rough shooting with his limited touches. Dorian Finney-Smith had a mostly rough day on offense too, missing 4 of his 5 3 point attempts missed, all of which were wide open.
