The Mavs forced 19 turnovers in Game 3 and took a 2-1 series lead against the Clippers.
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Dallas – Daniel Gafford epitomized Dallas' response to the city of Los Angeles' efforts to steal planes at American Airlines Center Friday night.
Not here. Not tonight.
Gafford, who was sidelined during the game due to lower back pain, called a consolation game in the fourth quarter of the Mavericks' 101-90 win over the Clippers to stuff Paul George cold at the rim. convened. The sequence underscored Dallas' determination to defend its home court in front of a sellout crowd of 20,402.
He also sent a message about the difficulties currently facing LA, which is trailing 2-1 ahead of Game 4 in Dallas on Sunday.
Guard Luka Doncic had his lowest point total in the playoffs amid a shaky game that saw the ejections of Russell Westbrook and P.J. Washington. That hardly mattered ahead of a “Lob City” night here in Dallas, but Kyrie Irving stepped up another gem in the second half.
Here are five takeaways from Game 3.
1. Big D's Lob City
The Clippers once had the nickname “Lob City” during the Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan era.
The Mavs made Game 3 their own.
Dallas rocked the rim with his microphone up and rocked the backboard all night. The Mavs made five alley-oops leading to dunks in the first half, but could have had six if Derrick Jones Jr. hadn't made a mistake.
Rookie Derek Lively II had four dunks off Doncic's two assists and 10 cents from Irving and Dante Exum. Gafford started the lob party 6:49 into the first quarter with an assist from Irving.
The Mavs totaled eight lob dunks.
Dallas did damage all night long with its huge offense. The Mavs outscored LA by 18 points in the paint, with Lively, Gafford, Jones and Washington combining for 32 points in the first half.
Dallas defeated the Clippers 52-38 in the paint.
“Our guys were big,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. “I don't think we existed in Game 1. But I thought we showed up in the second half of Game 1. Since that second half, we've been playing Mavs basketball.”
2.Second half KAI
While the Clippers struggled offensively, Luka Doncic found a way to take advantage of Kyrie Irving's dynamic abilities to advance the game.
There's been a clear pattern in this series, with Doncic jumping on the Clippers in the first half, then Irving flashing in the second half.
Irving repeated that blueprint in Game 3, scoring two points on 1-of-5 shooting in the first half, and Doncic scored a game-high 14 points heading into intermission. Irving scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half, 11 of which came on the final 4-of-8 shooting.
Through the first three games of this series, Irving averaged 20 points on 21-of-35 field goals and 9-of-15 3-pointers in the second half, totaling eight rebounds, five assists, and six steals. .
So the Clippers shouldn't be put to sleep by Irving's slow start right now.
“[It’s] It just has a calming effect on him,” Kidd said. “He's never in a hurry. He never panics. He feels like everything is under control. The players trust him on the floor. You can see that in the second half. I understand.”
3. Doncic makes an impact even without big numbers
Game 3 was the first time Doncic finished the series with less than 30 points or more. But the 25-year-old finished with a game-high 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, his second double-double of the postseason.
“Luka has to take what they’re giving us,” Kidd said. “The Clippers are a really good defensive team. They have a physical relationship with Luka.”
Still, Doncic was the catalyst for Dallas' 36-18 victory over LA in the second quarter. This gave the Mavs a 14-point lead at the half. The five-time All-Star had 12 points, five rebounds and five assists in the quarter.
Doncic also had two steals, proving his underrated ability as a defender.
“He's going to be challenged,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “When your best player takes on that challenge, you become a completely different team. He's not known for his defense. But step up and take that challenge and desire.[ing] It means a lot to play one-on-one with the guys. He does a good job of protecting our players. ”
Doncic was just 2 of 13 from the field in the second half, but Dallas took advantage of the Clippers' 10 turnovers to score 16 points during that period.
In total, the Mavs scored 29 points off 19 turnovers in LA.
4. James Harden reaches postseason milestone
Harden declined to speak to reporters after Game 3, but the veteran has moved past Magic Johnson into 16th place in all-time playoff points (3,708). The 2018 Kia MVP scored with an 8-meter stepback off Josh Green with 9:08 left in the second quarter to tie Johnson and give LA a 32-25 lead.
The problem was that Harden didn't score again until 35.5 seconds left in the third quarter. The point guard made two free throws and finally surpassed Johnson for all-time postseason points.
Harden scored seven points on just four attempts in the second half, despite playing a game-high 44 minutes.
5. No rebounding game for Kawhi Leonard.
Kawhi Leonard's return from injury has been limited, but at the same time the Clippers are turning over the ball a lot.
You could tell Leonard's bounce-back performance was taxing, especially after his pedestrian performance (by Leonard's standards) in Game 2. Leonard, 32, showed positive signs on both sides in that game, though he is still playing off the rust that has kept him from playing since. March 31st due to knee inflammation.
Game 3 made it clear that the two-time Finals MVP wasn't quite himself yet.
Leonard played just 25 minutes and had nine points on 4-of-7 shooting, nine rebounds and four turnovers. Roux admitted the club is still keeping an eye on the forward as he continues to work towards his return.
Leonard played just 10 minutes in the first half.
“He's trying to find a way to come back,” Lu said. “We're just managing it. He has inflammation in his knee. [we’re] Just being smart and being around Kawhi to make sure we're doing the right thing and understanding how he's feeling. He's still trying to find his rhythm. We have to make sure we help him do that. ”
In addition to scoring 15 points in Game 2, the veteran had seven rebounds and four steals in 35 minutes. The Clippers listed Leonard as questionable for Game 3, and it's likely he will be designated as questionable for Game 4 as well.
“The way things are going right now, we'll know tomorrow,” Leonard said. “But I want to play.”
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Michael C. Wright is a senior writer at NBA.com.You can email him herefind his archives here and follow him X.
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