MAVERICKS FALL TO CLIPPERS AT AAC
MAVS LEAD SERIES 2-1
The Mavs did not bring their “A” game to this one, squandering a 19-point early lead, and stumbling to a ten-point deficit at the end.
GAME STORY
The only new injured player reported among both teams was Serge Ibaka, who has apparently been struggling with a back problem. Rick went with the starting lineup that had been working for him — Luka, THJ, DFS, KP, Maxi. The Clippers rolled out Jackson, PG, Kawhi, Zubac, and Morris, inserting Reggie as point guard in lieu of Beverley.
FIRST QUARTER
Luka opened the scoring with a Dirk-style fadeaway over Zubac, following it up with a three from downtown, and another from the sideline. A Clippers timeout less than three minutes in saw Batum come in for Zubac. Hardaway and Luka responded with two threes. KP got on the board with an and-one, then fired up a three. Dallas was out to a 20-6 lead at 7:36. Kleber opened his account with a three. KP swatted away a Jackson shot. Hardaway skipped to a PUJIT. DFS tipped in a Luka miss. It looked like it was going to be the Mavericks night.
Rondo and Mann came in at around the 5:00 mark (Rondo to a chorus of boos), and the Mavs bench began filtering in. Brunson slid to the basket to score over Batum. Dallas fell apart at the seams, and their 19-point lead slipped to 5 at 1:55. Luka came back in at 1:31.
The game took a schoolyard turn when Beverley entered. It took only a few seconds for he and Luka to get into it. Double techs were issued. WCS went up for a hard foul on Mann. The play was reviewed, and the foul was upgraded to a Flagrant One. Mann’s freebies and a subsequent Zubac bucket brought the Clips to within one. Richardson followed with a shot in the paint. The first quarter concluded with a 34-31 score line in favor of the Mavs. The buzzer was a welcome break, as the Mavericks appeared to be on the verge of falling for the Clippers' baiting tactics and losing their cool.
SECOND QUARTER
Brunson banked in a three to follow a George bucket. Kawhi responded with a triple of his own. Luka hit a step-back over Zubac, and then angled in a leaner off the glass. Luka took his first free throws at 9:45, and missed both. The starters were back in at 8:10, with the score 44-40. Neither side was showing any enthusiasm for defense (unless you want to count the cheap shots from the Clipper guards on Luka).
PG gave the Clips their first lead of the game at 6:45 with a three. Brunson re-took it with a three of his own. After the Clips tied again, Maxi hit a corner three. The teams continued to exchange baskets. The Mavs took a timeout facing a 50-53 deficit.
The chippy play continued, as Terence Mann tripped Luka, and both ended up on the floor. THJ tied the game with a three at 3:33. Reggie hit two threes in the last couple of minutes. A Luka fadeaway brought the deficit within two, and the quarter closed with the Mavs trailing 61-63.
For the first half as a whole, the real killer was the Clippers’ 14-0 run in 101 seconds toward the end of the first quarter. Kawhi and George combined for 40 of the Clips’ 63 points, and hit 18 of their 22 attempts. LA shot an unacceptable 76% inside the arc, and outscored Dallas 28-14 in the paint, with the Mavs offering very little in the way of resistance. The Mavs had 12 threes on 54% shooting from deep, but even the treys did not make up for the Clippers’ constant parade to the basket. Luka was the only Mav in double figures, with most of his teammates not shooting well, and the Mavericks losing the rebounding battle 14-21. The Mavericks appeared lucky to be down only two points, and it was clear that the Mavs were going to have to pick up their defense if they hoped to stay in this contest.
THIRD QUARTER
A couple of minutes in, Luka was called for his third foul for jumping into PG on a three-point attempt at the end of the shot clock, bailing George out on a fizzling possession. Doncic dramatically dropped to the floor in dismay after pleading with the refs. The play was reviewed, and the foul was determined to be on the shot. Luka returned the favor with a four-point play. He tied the game with another three, but the Clips quickly responded. The Mavs looked a bit discombobulated, as the next few possessions featured back-to-back turnovers, in addition to a possession where four tip-in attempts all failed to hit the mark. The Clippers took their largest lead of the series that far when PG free throws gave them a five-point edge, and they soon increased their advantage to seven. Nick Angstadt tweeted that the Mavs had an appalling 134 defensive rating to that point.
PG was called for his fourth on a blocking foul drawn by Willie, causing George to retire to the bench at 3:48. Another delay occurred after the play when Terence Mann did an Oscar-worthy Swan Lake impression, sinking to the floor as if he were dying after a brush with Willie's arm. The play was reviewed for a hostile act, and a T was called on Willie for a “physical taunt.” Really? The quarter ended with the Mavs down 86-89. The Mavs did not produce a field goal in the last 4 minutes.
FOURTH QUARTER
Luka had an abridged rest to start the frame, checking back in at 8:25, and immediately scoring. A Brunson triple brought the Mavs within three, resulting in a Clippers timeout. Sadly, at 6:23, the LA lead was back to eight. Mavs were having a hard time getting anything going.
Kawhi gave his team their biggest lead so far at 10 points with 5 minutes remaining. Maxi answered with a three. Maxi then bit on a pump fake by Kawhi, sending Leonard to the line, where he of course hit both free throws. Luka threw a bad pass, turning the ball over. Rondo fouled Luka at 3:54, but LD missed both attempts. Morris hit a corner three, and was called for a taunting foul after the shot. The Clips feasted on threes from the left corner all night. KP hit the technical free throw, but the Mavs were facing an 11-point deficit with less than 4 minutes left.
Maxi turned the ball over trying to give it back to Luka after a handoff. Morris fouled out at 2:52. The Clips challenged the foul call, and were unsuccessful. Batum replaced Morris. Luka drew another foul, and split another pair of FTAs. Kris missed a wide open three. Jackson hit another trey from the dreaded left corner. Brunson fouled Kawhi after letting 18 seconds run off the clock. KL continued the Clips’ perfect performance from the line. Luka hit a three, but by then the hole was just too big. KP fouled Rondo after letting 18 seconds go by. Coach Lue waved his deep bench onto the court for the last 16 seconds, and the buzzer mercifully sounded.
STATISTICS
We might as well start with the shooting stats. Mavs went 38% on twos, 51% on threes, and 67% on FTAs. Clippers numbers were 69/42/94. Mavs point differentials were -26 on points from twos, +21 on points from threes, and -5 on made free throws. Despite the Mavs getting 10 more shots up, and shooting very well from range, the Clippers overwhelmed them with their inside game.
The Clips had a 46-24 advantage in PIP, and a 12-4 margin in fast-break points. Dallas had a 17-6 edge in second-chance points, and a 13-7 lead in offensive rebounds.
PLAYERS
DONCIC. Luka accumulated 44 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists in 39 minutes on the court. He was amazing, but a one-man offense was not enough.
KLEBER. Maxi had a 14-1-1 line, on 5-9 shooting. He had the unenviable assignment of guarding Kawhi, who was pretty much unstoppable.
BRUNSON. Jalen had 14 points in 22 minutes in his role as sixth man. Although he had a normal offensive night, he gave up a lot on the defensive end, and had a team-worst -19 plus-minus.
HARDAWAY. Tim had only 12 points, was 4-14 from the field (4-6 from three), and pulled down 6 rebounds. He was part of the group that got somewhat shot-happy after building a big lead, and subsequently, there didn’t seem to be any concerted effort to involve him, with the offense being very heliocentric on the night.
PORZINGIS. It was a very disappointing night from KP on both ends of the court, or so it seemed to me. He had only 9 points on 3-10 shooting. The Clips made liberal use of small lineups, and KP was for the most part unable to take advantage of the mismatches. He grabbed only 3 boards, and admitted after the game that he needs to make a bigger effort on the offensive glass. Defensively, it appeared to me that he was almost a disaster. I don’t know what else to say. Dang. Would love for someone to show me that I am wrong.
DFS. Dorian had 7 rebounds and tried to do some defensive work, but had only 6 points and was 3-10 from the field. We know he is capable of much better on either end.
BENCH. Richardson, Willie and Powell combined for 9 points, 5 boards, 2 blocks, an assist and a steal, and were a collective -14 in a total of 32 minutes. Willie was the most impactful of the three, backing up KP.
CLIPPERS. Kawhi and Paul George had a spectacular night, combining for 65 points on 24-35 shooting. In addition. Morris and Jackson totaled 31 points between them, with Morris going 6 of 9 before fouling out. Rondo was pretty effective on Luka, and we might see more of that matchup as the series progresses.
OBSERVATIONS
Carlisle noted that, with the Clips going so small, the Mavs should have been much better on the boards (they were out-rebounded 33-39). He added that it was clear that defense was the most important problem.
The Mavs started the game with great intensity and effectiveness, building a 19-point lead. When Luka went out in the first, the lead melted away in the course of a few minutes. Luka felt that the collapse was a combination of taking bad shots and relaxing a little too much with a lead. Dallas never really recovered from that stretch, looking on the edge of losing their composure more than once. KP admitted that it had been an emotional roller coaster, and it may have been a struggle at times to keep their feelings under control. The Clippers were clearly trying to get under their skin, and the tactic seemed to work, at least to a degree.
The bench units tended to drag the team down, and one would hope that they could at least begin to hold their own during the minutes they are on the floor.
The Mavs hit very well from three, and we know they can score on the Clips. However, their defense was extremely poor, and there were stretches where they couldn’t buy a stop. The defensive performance down the stretch was also very bad. ESPN ran a video segment post-game illustrating the Mavs’ poor decision-making and miscommunication during the last few minutes. Yikes.
I feel like the Clips gave us their best shot, and definitely looked the better team after the first eight minutes or so. Congrats to Ty Lue on his adjustments, and to his players for executing so well.
It’s Carlisle’s move now. The defense has to be much better if the team is to capitalize on their first two wins. This loss was not just on KP, but the Mavs really need to get more out of him. If not, I think it will be very difficult to advance. Imho, the offense needs to get back to being at least somewhat less Luka-dependent. If Luka is the only guy who scores very much or takes many shots, the game becomes way too predictable for the opponent. Of course, the “others” need to be able to make their shots at a respectable clip, and you can’t win on many nights when KP, DFS, and THJ combine to go 10 of 34 (29%) from the field.
This match was more like what I think most of us were expecting when the series started. It’s only one loss, and the Mavs are still in the driver’s seat. But it’s a shot across the bow, and the Mavericks had best take heed, if they can.
The two teams meet again on Sunday in Dallas.
MAVS LEAD SERIES 2-1
The Mavs did not bring their “A” game to this one, squandering a 19-point early lead, and stumbling to a ten-point deficit at the end.
GAME STORY
The only new injured player reported among both teams was Serge Ibaka, who has apparently been struggling with a back problem. Rick went with the starting lineup that had been working for him — Luka, THJ, DFS, KP, Maxi. The Clippers rolled out Jackson, PG, Kawhi, Zubac, and Morris, inserting Reggie as point guard in lieu of Beverley.
FIRST QUARTER
Luka opened the scoring with a Dirk-style fadeaway over Zubac, following it up with a three from downtown, and another from the sideline. A Clippers timeout less than three minutes in saw Batum come in for Zubac. Hardaway and Luka responded with two threes. KP got on the board with an and-one, then fired up a three. Dallas was out to a 20-6 lead at 7:36. Kleber opened his account with a three. KP swatted away a Jackson shot. Hardaway skipped to a PUJIT. DFS tipped in a Luka miss. It looked like it was going to be the Mavericks night.
Rondo and Mann came in at around the 5:00 mark (Rondo to a chorus of boos), and the Mavs bench began filtering in. Brunson slid to the basket to score over Batum. Dallas fell apart at the seams, and their 19-point lead slipped to 5 at 1:55. Luka came back in at 1:31.
The game took a schoolyard turn when Beverley entered. It took only a few seconds for he and Luka to get into it. Double techs were issued. WCS went up for a hard foul on Mann. The play was reviewed, and the foul was upgraded to a Flagrant One. Mann’s freebies and a subsequent Zubac bucket brought the Clips to within one. Richardson followed with a shot in the paint. The first quarter concluded with a 34-31 score line in favor of the Mavs. The buzzer was a welcome break, as the Mavericks appeared to be on the verge of falling for the Clippers' baiting tactics and losing their cool.
SECOND QUARTER
Brunson banked in a three to follow a George bucket. Kawhi responded with a triple of his own. Luka hit a step-back over Zubac, and then angled in a leaner off the glass. Luka took his first free throws at 9:45, and missed both. The starters were back in at 8:10, with the score 44-40. Neither side was showing any enthusiasm for defense (unless you want to count the cheap shots from the Clipper guards on Luka).
PG gave the Clips their first lead of the game at 6:45 with a three. Brunson re-took it with a three of his own. After the Clips tied again, Maxi hit a corner three. The teams continued to exchange baskets. The Mavs took a timeout facing a 50-53 deficit.
The chippy play continued, as Terence Mann tripped Luka, and both ended up on the floor. THJ tied the game with a three at 3:33. Reggie hit two threes in the last couple of minutes. A Luka fadeaway brought the deficit within two, and the quarter closed with the Mavs trailing 61-63.
For the first half as a whole, the real killer was the Clippers’ 14-0 run in 101 seconds toward the end of the first quarter. Kawhi and George combined for 40 of the Clips’ 63 points, and hit 18 of their 22 attempts. LA shot an unacceptable 76% inside the arc, and outscored Dallas 28-14 in the paint, with the Mavs offering very little in the way of resistance. The Mavs had 12 threes on 54% shooting from deep, but even the treys did not make up for the Clippers’ constant parade to the basket. Luka was the only Mav in double figures, with most of his teammates not shooting well, and the Mavericks losing the rebounding battle 14-21. The Mavericks appeared lucky to be down only two points, and it was clear that the Mavs were going to have to pick up their defense if they hoped to stay in this contest.
THIRD QUARTER
A couple of minutes in, Luka was called for his third foul for jumping into PG on a three-point attempt at the end of the shot clock, bailing George out on a fizzling possession. Doncic dramatically dropped to the floor in dismay after pleading with the refs. The play was reviewed, and the foul was determined to be on the shot. Luka returned the favor with a four-point play. He tied the game with another three, but the Clips quickly responded. The Mavs looked a bit discombobulated, as the next few possessions featured back-to-back turnovers, in addition to a possession where four tip-in attempts all failed to hit the mark. The Clippers took their largest lead of the series that far when PG free throws gave them a five-point edge, and they soon increased their advantage to seven. Nick Angstadt tweeted that the Mavs had an appalling 134 defensive rating to that point.
PG was called for his fourth on a blocking foul drawn by Willie, causing George to retire to the bench at 3:48. Another delay occurred after the play when Terence Mann did an Oscar-worthy Swan Lake impression, sinking to the floor as if he were dying after a brush with Willie's arm. The play was reviewed for a hostile act, and a T was called on Willie for a “physical taunt.” Really? The quarter ended with the Mavs down 86-89. The Mavs did not produce a field goal in the last 4 minutes.
FOURTH QUARTER
Luka had an abridged rest to start the frame, checking back in at 8:25, and immediately scoring. A Brunson triple brought the Mavs within three, resulting in a Clippers timeout. Sadly, at 6:23, the LA lead was back to eight. Mavs were having a hard time getting anything going.
Kawhi gave his team their biggest lead so far at 10 points with 5 minutes remaining. Maxi answered with a three. Maxi then bit on a pump fake by Kawhi, sending Leonard to the line, where he of course hit both free throws. Luka threw a bad pass, turning the ball over. Rondo fouled Luka at 3:54, but LD missed both attempts. Morris hit a corner three, and was called for a taunting foul after the shot. The Clips feasted on threes from the left corner all night. KP hit the technical free throw, but the Mavs were facing an 11-point deficit with less than 4 minutes left.
Maxi turned the ball over trying to give it back to Luka after a handoff. Morris fouled out at 2:52. The Clips challenged the foul call, and were unsuccessful. Batum replaced Morris. Luka drew another foul, and split another pair of FTAs. Kris missed a wide open three. Jackson hit another trey from the dreaded left corner. Brunson fouled Kawhi after letting 18 seconds run off the clock. KL continued the Clips’ perfect performance from the line. Luka hit a three, but by then the hole was just too big. KP fouled Rondo after letting 18 seconds go by. Coach Lue waved his deep bench onto the court for the last 16 seconds, and the buzzer mercifully sounded.
STATISTICS
We might as well start with the shooting stats. Mavs went 38% on twos, 51% on threes, and 67% on FTAs. Clippers numbers were 69/42/94. Mavs point differentials were -26 on points from twos, +21 on points from threes, and -5 on made free throws. Despite the Mavs getting 10 more shots up, and shooting very well from range, the Clippers overwhelmed them with their inside game.
The Clips had a 46-24 advantage in PIP, and a 12-4 margin in fast-break points. Dallas had a 17-6 edge in second-chance points, and a 13-7 lead in offensive rebounds.
PLAYERS
DONCIC. Luka accumulated 44 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists in 39 minutes on the court. He was amazing, but a one-man offense was not enough.
KLEBER. Maxi had a 14-1-1 line, on 5-9 shooting. He had the unenviable assignment of guarding Kawhi, who was pretty much unstoppable.
BRUNSON. Jalen had 14 points in 22 minutes in his role as sixth man. Although he had a normal offensive night, he gave up a lot on the defensive end, and had a team-worst -19 plus-minus.
HARDAWAY. Tim had only 12 points, was 4-14 from the field (4-6 from three), and pulled down 6 rebounds. He was part of the group that got somewhat shot-happy after building a big lead, and subsequently, there didn’t seem to be any concerted effort to involve him, with the offense being very heliocentric on the night.
PORZINGIS. It was a very disappointing night from KP on both ends of the court, or so it seemed to me. He had only 9 points on 3-10 shooting. The Clips made liberal use of small lineups, and KP was for the most part unable to take advantage of the mismatches. He grabbed only 3 boards, and admitted after the game that he needs to make a bigger effort on the offensive glass. Defensively, it appeared to me that he was almost a disaster. I don’t know what else to say. Dang. Would love for someone to show me that I am wrong.
DFS. Dorian had 7 rebounds and tried to do some defensive work, but had only 6 points and was 3-10 from the field. We know he is capable of much better on either end.
BENCH. Richardson, Willie and Powell combined for 9 points, 5 boards, 2 blocks, an assist and a steal, and were a collective -14 in a total of 32 minutes. Willie was the most impactful of the three, backing up KP.
CLIPPERS. Kawhi and Paul George had a spectacular night, combining for 65 points on 24-35 shooting. In addition. Morris and Jackson totaled 31 points between them, with Morris going 6 of 9 before fouling out. Rondo was pretty effective on Luka, and we might see more of that matchup as the series progresses.
OBSERVATIONS
Carlisle noted that, with the Clips going so small, the Mavs should have been much better on the boards (they were out-rebounded 33-39). He added that it was clear that defense was the most important problem.
The Mavs started the game with great intensity and effectiveness, building a 19-point lead. When Luka went out in the first, the lead melted away in the course of a few minutes. Luka felt that the collapse was a combination of taking bad shots and relaxing a little too much with a lead. Dallas never really recovered from that stretch, looking on the edge of losing their composure more than once. KP admitted that it had been an emotional roller coaster, and it may have been a struggle at times to keep their feelings under control. The Clippers were clearly trying to get under their skin, and the tactic seemed to work, at least to a degree.
The bench units tended to drag the team down, and one would hope that they could at least begin to hold their own during the minutes they are on the floor.
The Mavs hit very well from three, and we know they can score on the Clips. However, their defense was extremely poor, and there were stretches where they couldn’t buy a stop. The defensive performance down the stretch was also very bad. ESPN ran a video segment post-game illustrating the Mavs’ poor decision-making and miscommunication during the last few minutes. Yikes.
I feel like the Clips gave us their best shot, and definitely looked the better team after the first eight minutes or so. Congrats to Ty Lue on his adjustments, and to his players for executing so well.
It’s Carlisle’s move now. The defense has to be much better if the team is to capitalize on their first two wins. This loss was not just on KP, but the Mavs really need to get more out of him. If not, I think it will be very difficult to advance. Imho, the offense needs to get back to being at least somewhat less Luka-dependent. If Luka is the only guy who scores very much or takes many shots, the game becomes way too predictable for the opponent. Of course, the “others” need to be able to make their shots at a respectable clip, and you can’t win on many nights when KP, DFS, and THJ combine to go 10 of 34 (29%) from the field.
This match was more like what I think most of us were expecting when the series started. It’s only one loss, and the Mavs are still in the driver’s seat. But it’s a shot across the bow, and the Mavericks had best take heed, if they can.
The two teams meet again on Sunday in Dallas.