Luka Doncic took charge in the first half. Kyrie Irving took over as number two.
On Friday, the Dallas Mavericks won Game 6 against the Los Angeles Clippers, 114-101, clinching the series victory with a 4-2 record and advancing to the second round of the playoffs. The fifth-seeded Mavericks will advance to the second round against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. The Clippers' season comes to a disappointing end.
The Clippers, who suffered a 123-93 home loss in Game 5, lost 34-26 in the first quarter on Friday. They battled back to tie the score at 52-52 before halftime, limiting Irving to just two points in the first half. This run was the last stand of the series.
Irving played a big role with 28 points in the second half.
Irving led a 35-20 surge in the third quarter for the Mavericks, who scored 13 points in the stanza and took a wide lead after halftime. The Clippers had no comeback in the fourth quarter as their playmakers could not match Dallas' dynamic duo.
Irving made 1 of 6 in the first half, then 5 of 6 in the third quarter. A personal 5-0 Irving run featuring a floater in traffic and a second-chance 3 extended Dallas' lead, and he scored a then-game-high 15 points in the final minute of the quarter.
In the fourth, Irving and Andone's 3-pointers extended Dallas' lead to 106-82, ending the Clippers' hopes of a comeback.
Irving scored two goals in the first half and finished with a game-high 30 points. He added six rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks. He made 11 of 19 shots from the field and 5 of 9 from 3.
Doncic had 28 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds. He struggled on the field on a night (9-of-26, 1-of-10 from 3), ceding the scoring spot to Irving in the second half.
Clippers' familiar postseason story
With Kawhi Leonard out and Paul George and James Harden struggling on the field, Los Angeles didn't have the firepower to compete. The Clippers were led in scoring by Norman Powell, who scored 20 points off the bench.
George had 18 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. He made 6 of 18 field goals and just 2 of 10 from 3-point range. Harden had 16 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds. He made 5 of 16 from the floor, but missed all six of his 3-point attempts. Russell Westbrook came off the bench and scored six points in nine minutes.
Leonard missed four of six games in the series due to knee inflammation. He has now appeared in four of the Clippers' last 19 playoff games.
On a night when Doncic struggled with his shot, the Mavericks outscored the Clippers on floor shooting (48.2% vs. 41.5%) and 3-point shooting (33.3% vs. 25.8%).
The Mavericks currently have three days off in preparation for Game 1 against the Thunder on Tuesday.Will be awaiting the status of backup forward Maxi Kleber, who sprained his right shoulder. There was a significant decline in the second quarter. And didn't return.
The Clippers enter the offseason with renewed questions surrounding their All-Star roster, which failed to compete for a championship and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the second year in a row.
