MAVS CLOSE OUT SEASON IN LOS ANGELES
IT WAS A HECK OF A SERIES!
The Mavericks battled, but just ran out of juice against a loaded veteran Clippers team. The young Mavs fought the good fight, and can hold their heads high.
MINUTE-BY-MINUTE
Both coaches continued with the starting units they had been using.
FIRST QUARTER
THJ opened the scoring, and the Mavs began with their zone defense. Luka looked for KP for a corner three, which was unfortunately missed. However, DFS hit a three off a pass from Bobi. Luka tried to find Bobi in the paint, but the pass was so high that Boban couldn’t hang on. Luka attacked Reggie and drew a foul from Morris. His free throw woes seemed to have been left in the dust. DFS had an open look at a three, but instead fired a cross-court pass, which was intercepted. No, no, no. The Clips took their first lead of the game three minutes in. KP went in for a jam. Bobi to KP for a dunk! Luka, singly defended, drove to the basket for a bucket. Batum dunked over Bobi. Yikes. Timeout. 6:57. 16-13 Clips.
Luka from three! Bobi puts one back. Mann enters early and hits a three. Oh, no! THJ hops on one foot to the sidelines, and heads directly to the locker room. Gulp. KP hits a pair of free throws. Mann drives past Boban again. Aagh. Luka with a step-back three. And another! Rondo knocks down a three with no one within 100 yards. Guess they’re letting him have those today. Same situation with Mann. Yikes. Mavs are just standing there watching — didn’t even try to close out, although they had time. Kawhi scores off a J Rich turnover. Timeout Dallas. 3:10. 31-26 Clips.
KP with a jumper ATO. Luka drops one in over Kawhi. THJ comes back on the court. What a welcome sight! Powell is the first big off the bench, and Luka hits him for a dunk. Luka draws a foul on a drive to the basket. Two free throw attempts. Yes, sir! Luka gets the lead back for Dallas, then draws another foul. Misses both attempts. Hang in there, Luka. Kawhi goes in for a flush past Doe-Doe. Powell follows in a Luka miss. 38-35 Mavs after one.
Luka dazzled with a 19-point quarter. Kawhi led the Clips with 13. The box score shows Dallas with a 12-1 advantage in rebounds. Could that be right? Yes, it could. Mavs with an 8-2 margin in FTAs.
SECOND QUARTER
Brunson misses two attempts in the paint. Kennard with a wide open three, Clips re-take the lead. KP bails out a poor possession with a turnaround from the corner. J Rich passes up an open three for a drive and turns the ball over for the second time today. Shoot when you’re open, guys! Tim draws a foul on a George turnover. Burke enters, along with Bobi and Luka. Looks like a high-octane offensive unit. Luka dribbles and turns it over. Reggie answers with a corner three. Terrible pass to Bobi, who turns it over. Morris hits an open three. THJ corner three waved off for an offensive foul on Doe-Doe. Not liking the looks of this. Clips making their threes, Mavs not so much. Luka scores on a post-up. Bobi falls to the ground, gets an and-one. Timeout. 5:46. 48-44 Clips.
Bobi misses the free throw. Doncic scores in the paint after Clips gain a 7-point lead. Luka with an and-one, blowing by Mann after an offensive rebound by DFS. DFS throws it down! Clips bomb in a three. Luka responds in kind. Bobi called for his third foul. Cuban does a Tim Duncan impression from the stands, complete with upturned palms and disbelieving look. Timeout 3:08. Clips up five.
KP passes up open three to drive, and misses a shot. Grrr. Mann draws a foul on an offensive rebound while three Mavs stand there looking confused. Not good, folks. THJ to the basket after missing two threes. Then draws a charge on the other end. KP for the slam! Burke with an ill-advised foul on Jackson mid-court. DFS with a put back. He has been deadly on the offensive glass. George blows in for a bucket. THJ responds. Clips killing the Mavs with threes, as Reggie hits a long one. 70-62 Clips at halftime. Have to do better than this.
35-24 second quarter. Mavs were 1-10 from three in the period, Clips 6-10. LA also had a 9-2 advantage in FTAs. Luka with three turnovers, all trying to force the ball in to Boban. Mavs staying semi-connected with a 22-10 rebound margin and a 34-16 edge in PIP. Every Clipper in positive figures. If the Mavericks don’t pick up their execution, they’re headed back to Dallas. Twenty-four minutes to get it together.
THIRD QUARTER
Rick sticks with Bobi, who scores the first basket. DFS chips in a three. THJ connects with another. Mavs cut the deficit to two inside the first two minutes. Timeout.
THJ ties the game with a goaltend call on Batum. Mavs turnover on a defensive board. Luka ties. Bobi blocks Reggie, then banks one in. Another turnover trying to get the ball to Boban. Third foul on Kawhi, knocking down THJ. DFS from three! KP scores in the paint. DFS passes up the next three, Luka forced into a tough shot that’s way short. George erases Dallas' 5-point lead with free throws. Kawhi throws one down to put the Clips back in front. Morris hits a wide open three. Timeout Dallas. 5:08. 86-81 Clips.
Steve Ballmer doing dance moves on the sideline. Creepy. Mavs turn the ball over. Clips get multiple offensive rebounds but can’t take advantage. Luka drives into a double-team, turns the ball over. KL draws a foul, fourth on Doe-Doe. Clips on a 12-0 run. Luka battles his way to a rim shot, then draws a foul on George. The free throw yips are back. Misses both. Morris picks up his fourth foul. Clipper lead back up to 8. KL makes it 11 with an and-one off an offensive board. Kennard sends it to 14 on a 21-2 run. Timeout Dallas. Not looking good, folks. Yikes.
Luka Eurosteps his way to a basket. 100-85 Clips after three.
Mavs just can’t score. A 23-point quarter, following the 24-point second period. Clips’ 7-point edge in the third was built on being +6 on points from threes and gaining a 5-0 margin in made free throws, along with a 7-0 difference in second-chance points.
FOURTH QUARTER
Luka remains on the court to start the fourth. Kennard scores off another offensive board, JB answers. Luka misses a difficult shot over Kawhi. Mavs can’t buy a bucket. Luka with 6 points in the half so far, deficit up to 19. Four fouls on Leonard, who takes Luka down. Bobi puts one in. Then another, on a tip-in. Timeout Clippers. 7:57. Clips up 15.
DFS hits a three from the corner. Clips hitting every shot, it seems like. Batum blocks Bobi, who brought the ball down before shooting. Dorian earns an and-one, but misses the free throw. Luka draws a foul. Both attempts go down. George commits the Clips’ first turnover of the quarter. Mavs missing good looks right and left. Bobi hangs one in. Timeout. 4:37. Clips up 11.
Mavs go on a 13-3 run, but Reggie hits the dagger three at 1:34. Just too big a hole for our boys to dig out of. Rick giving the refs an earful on the sideline, not that it still matters. The buzzer sounds. George and Kawhi dap Luka up on the sidelines. Not loving that. Disappointing loss, but they gave it the old college try.
OBSERVATIONS
The Mavs got some good individual performances in their last game. Luka exploded for 46-7-14. KP finally had a better match, with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Dorian was the surprise role player who stepped up, recording 18 points and 10 boards, 6 offensive. Bobi had 14 and 10, on 7-11 shooting. Timmy had a rough shooting night, but still managed 11 points.
At the end of the day, the Clippers’ superior talent and experience won out. The giant-sized lineups and zone defense were novelty approaches that only worked for so long. Congrats to the Mavs for making it such a competitive series against the heavily favored Clips. I think our guys will probably regret not having closed out Game Six in Dallas, when they were well within reach. However, that's spilt milk at this point. I’m sure we will have numerous interesting discussions to come reviewing the season, the series, and the next moves, but that’s it for this game.
The Mavericks battled through a very difficult and weird season, and I think they look like they might well be ready for the second round next spring, with a soupçon of help from Lady Luck.
MFFLs, thanks for joining me for another season of post-game recaps!
It wouldn’t surprise me to see the Mavs with a new and improved look in the fall. On to what promises to be an exciting summer!
IT WAS A HECK OF A SERIES!
The Mavericks battled, but just ran out of juice against a loaded veteran Clippers team. The young Mavs fought the good fight, and can hold their heads high.
MINUTE-BY-MINUTE
Both coaches continued with the starting units they had been using.
FIRST QUARTER
THJ opened the scoring, and the Mavs began with their zone defense. Luka looked for KP for a corner three, which was unfortunately missed. However, DFS hit a three off a pass from Bobi. Luka tried to find Bobi in the paint, but the pass was so high that Boban couldn’t hang on. Luka attacked Reggie and drew a foul from Morris. His free throw woes seemed to have been left in the dust. DFS had an open look at a three, but instead fired a cross-court pass, which was intercepted. No, no, no. The Clips took their first lead of the game three minutes in. KP went in for a jam. Bobi to KP for a dunk! Luka, singly defended, drove to the basket for a bucket. Batum dunked over Bobi. Yikes. Timeout. 6:57. 16-13 Clips.
Luka from three! Bobi puts one back. Mann enters early and hits a three. Oh, no! THJ hops on one foot to the sidelines, and heads directly to the locker room. Gulp. KP hits a pair of free throws. Mann drives past Boban again. Aagh. Luka with a step-back three. And another! Rondo knocks down a three with no one within 100 yards. Guess they’re letting him have those today. Same situation with Mann. Yikes. Mavs are just standing there watching — didn’t even try to close out, although they had time. Kawhi scores off a J Rich turnover. Timeout Dallas. 3:10. 31-26 Clips.
KP with a jumper ATO. Luka drops one in over Kawhi. THJ comes back on the court. What a welcome sight! Powell is the first big off the bench, and Luka hits him for a dunk. Luka draws a foul on a drive to the basket. Two free throw attempts. Yes, sir! Luka gets the lead back for Dallas, then draws another foul. Misses both attempts. Hang in there, Luka. Kawhi goes in for a flush past Doe-Doe. Powell follows in a Luka miss. 38-35 Mavs after one.
Luka dazzled with a 19-point quarter. Kawhi led the Clips with 13. The box score shows Dallas with a 12-1 advantage in rebounds. Could that be right? Yes, it could. Mavs with an 8-2 margin in FTAs.
SECOND QUARTER
Brunson misses two attempts in the paint. Kennard with a wide open three, Clips re-take the lead. KP bails out a poor possession with a turnaround from the corner. J Rich passes up an open three for a drive and turns the ball over for the second time today. Shoot when you’re open, guys! Tim draws a foul on a George turnover. Burke enters, along with Bobi and Luka. Looks like a high-octane offensive unit. Luka dribbles and turns it over. Reggie answers with a corner three. Terrible pass to Bobi, who turns it over. Morris hits an open three. THJ corner three waved off for an offensive foul on Doe-Doe. Not liking the looks of this. Clips making their threes, Mavs not so much. Luka scores on a post-up. Bobi falls to the ground, gets an and-one. Timeout. 5:46. 48-44 Clips.
Bobi misses the free throw. Doncic scores in the paint after Clips gain a 7-point lead. Luka with an and-one, blowing by Mann after an offensive rebound by DFS. DFS throws it down! Clips bomb in a three. Luka responds in kind. Bobi called for his third foul. Cuban does a Tim Duncan impression from the stands, complete with upturned palms and disbelieving look. Timeout 3:08. Clips up five.
KP passes up open three to drive, and misses a shot. Grrr. Mann draws a foul on an offensive rebound while three Mavs stand there looking confused. Not good, folks. THJ to the basket after missing two threes. Then draws a charge on the other end. KP for the slam! Burke with an ill-advised foul on Jackson mid-court. DFS with a put back. He has been deadly on the offensive glass. George blows in for a bucket. THJ responds. Clips killing the Mavs with threes, as Reggie hits a long one. 70-62 Clips at halftime. Have to do better than this.
35-24 second quarter. Mavs were 1-10 from three in the period, Clips 6-10. LA also had a 9-2 advantage in FTAs. Luka with three turnovers, all trying to force the ball in to Boban. Mavs staying semi-connected with a 22-10 rebound margin and a 34-16 edge in PIP. Every Clipper in positive figures. If the Mavericks don’t pick up their execution, they’re headed back to Dallas. Twenty-four minutes to get it together.
THIRD QUARTER
Rick sticks with Bobi, who scores the first basket. DFS chips in a three. THJ connects with another. Mavs cut the deficit to two inside the first two minutes. Timeout.
THJ ties the game with a goaltend call on Batum. Mavs turnover on a defensive board. Luka ties. Bobi blocks Reggie, then banks one in. Another turnover trying to get the ball to Boban. Third foul on Kawhi, knocking down THJ. DFS from three! KP scores in the paint. DFS passes up the next three, Luka forced into a tough shot that’s way short. George erases Dallas' 5-point lead with free throws. Kawhi throws one down to put the Clips back in front. Morris hits a wide open three. Timeout Dallas. 5:08. 86-81 Clips.
Steve Ballmer doing dance moves on the sideline. Creepy. Mavs turn the ball over. Clips get multiple offensive rebounds but can’t take advantage. Luka drives into a double-team, turns the ball over. KL draws a foul, fourth on Doe-Doe. Clips on a 12-0 run. Luka battles his way to a rim shot, then draws a foul on George. The free throw yips are back. Misses both. Morris picks up his fourth foul. Clipper lead back up to 8. KL makes it 11 with an and-one off an offensive board. Kennard sends it to 14 on a 21-2 run. Timeout Dallas. Not looking good, folks. Yikes.
Luka Eurosteps his way to a basket. 100-85 Clips after three.
Mavs just can’t score. A 23-point quarter, following the 24-point second period. Clips’ 7-point edge in the third was built on being +6 on points from threes and gaining a 5-0 margin in made free throws, along with a 7-0 difference in second-chance points.
FOURTH QUARTER
Luka remains on the court to start the fourth. Kennard scores off another offensive board, JB answers. Luka misses a difficult shot over Kawhi. Mavs can’t buy a bucket. Luka with 6 points in the half so far, deficit up to 19. Four fouls on Leonard, who takes Luka down. Bobi puts one in. Then another, on a tip-in. Timeout Clippers. 7:57. Clips up 15.
DFS hits a three from the corner. Clips hitting every shot, it seems like. Batum blocks Bobi, who brought the ball down before shooting. Dorian earns an and-one, but misses the free throw. Luka draws a foul. Both attempts go down. George commits the Clips’ first turnover of the quarter. Mavs missing good looks right and left. Bobi hangs one in. Timeout. 4:37. Clips up 11.
Mavs go on a 13-3 run, but Reggie hits the dagger three at 1:34. Just too big a hole for our boys to dig out of. Rick giving the refs an earful on the sideline, not that it still matters. The buzzer sounds. George and Kawhi dap Luka up on the sidelines. Not loving that. Disappointing loss, but they gave it the old college try.
OBSERVATIONS
The Mavs got some good individual performances in their last game. Luka exploded for 46-7-14. KP finally had a better match, with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Dorian was the surprise role player who stepped up, recording 18 points and 10 boards, 6 offensive. Bobi had 14 and 10, on 7-11 shooting. Timmy had a rough shooting night, but still managed 11 points.
At the end of the day, the Clippers’ superior talent and experience won out. The giant-sized lineups and zone defense were novelty approaches that only worked for so long. Congrats to the Mavs for making it such a competitive series against the heavily favored Clips. I think our guys will probably regret not having closed out Game Six in Dallas, when they were well within reach. However, that's spilt milk at this point. I’m sure we will have numerous interesting discussions to come reviewing the season, the series, and the next moves, but that’s it for this game.
The Mavericks battled through a very difficult and weird season, and I think they look like they might well be ready for the second round next spring, with a soupçon of help from Lady Luck.
MFFLs, thanks for joining me for another season of post-game recaps!
It wouldn’t surprise me to see the Mavs with a new and improved look in the fall. On to what promises to be an exciting summer!