There were many factors that led to the Dallas Mavericks' 123-93 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, but the night boils down to this.
In a crucial Game 5 without Kawhi Leonard, the three Clippers All-Stars tasked with leading the offense remained undefeated, allowing Doncic and the rest of the Mavericks to regain the series advantage and earn a shutout. I got a chance. Game 6 on Friday at Dallas (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
If a team wins Game 5 of a series that was previously tied 2-2, they have an 81.7% chance of advancing.
Doncic was the best player on the floor despite spraining his right knee in Game 3 and suffering from upper respiratory issues. He admitted before the game that he probably wouldn't have been able to play in a regular season game and would have rather left the Clippers looking like he wasn't feeling well:
Maxi Kleber had a comeback night, scoring 15 points on 5-of-7 3-pointers. Kyrie Irving also had some great moments, including a really loud alley-oop lob.
The game was evenly matched from the start, with both teams trading leads 12 times in the first quarter. The Mavericks built a small lead in the second quarter and extended their lead to double digits with a quick run late in the second.
But it was in the third quarter that Los Angeles really lost the game. The Clippers only made one field goal in the first seven minutes, but the Mavericks' offense kept up the pace and was unable to take a large lead in the game. The backups were in the middle of the fourth quarter.
The 30-point loss was the Clippers' largest loss in playoff history.
It might be unfair to point to one play as evidence that the team isn't putting up the fight it needs to, but the rough play in particular was the third, when Irving got a steal off an errant pass from George. was. As a result, Irving and Doncic completed a 2-on-1 fast break against Westbrook. Westbrook's hard defense ruined the play, but unfortunately he was the only Clipper who bothered to run back.
Derrick Jones Jr. was next.
It's familiar territory for the Clippers, who lacked the players who staked their title as favorites but were on the back foot in a series that looked like they had a chance. They won both games Leonard missed early in the series, but Game 5 showed how difficult it would be to bounce back in Games 6 and 7.
If the Mavericks shut out the series on Friday, Game 5 will be the Clippers' last home game at Crypto.com Arena before moving to the luxurious Intuit Dome in Inglewood next season. It wouldn't be a graceful exit.
