MAVS 112, CLIPPERS 104

[mavsluvr]

MAVS END LOSING STREAK ON LUKA’S RETURN
COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT

The Mavericks faced the Clippers again in LA, hoping to avoid their fourth loss in four games. After a rough first half, Luka and KP took the game to the wire, but the Clips sent the match to overtime with an 11-1 run in the last minutes of the second half. The Mavs then cruised to a compelling victory in the extra period. 


GAME NOTES

Frankie (calf) and Reggie (illness) were out. However, the Mavs were delighted to welcome Luka back after his three-game absence. Kawhi and Batum were out for LA. Kidd decided on a new starting lineup — Luka-Tim-DFS-KP-Willie. Devin speculated that Kidd wanted a bigger body to match up with Zubac.

After the game, Kidd explained his thinking on the starting unit. Said Powell hasn’t done anything wrong, but they thought this would be a good time to make a change and see what Willie looks like in that lineup. The Bally crew said they think the change was made because Willie is a little better defensively than Powell, and the team doesn’t care that much about offense from that position. Additionally, they like the Maxi-DP combo. 

FIRST QUARTER

Willie starts with a foul on Zubac. Mavs getting good looks, but they’re not falling. Luka called for an offensive foul on PG. He’s getting a boatload of defensive attention. Luka has the Mavs’ first basket. Jackson getting to the paint, pretty as you please. PG blocks an attempt by Willie. DFS has missed three kick-out corner threes. Morris makes one for the Clippers. Not the start we were hoping for. Mavs 1-7 from the field.  3-11 8:32

Luka must be getting tired of making the right passes, just for the recipient to brick the shot. WCS this time. Hardaway with a jumper from Dallas breaks the drought. KP draws a foul. DFS misses another corner three. Powell in for Willie. Luka called for his second foul. Powell also called for one. Brunson comes in for Luka. KP hits in the paint over multiple defenders. Dallas score six straight points, but Mann answers with a three. Jackson waltzes into the paint again, like no one was there. Aargh. Mavs turn the ball over, Clips take advantage. 9-18 4:49

Two fouls on Powell now. He stays out there. JB finds a cutting DFS at the basket. THJ hits again. Reggie Jackson with another dance to the basket. THJ deflects a Clippers attempt. Maxi gets on the board with two free throws. Excellent transition find by Brunson, but Trey bricks the shot. Luka posts up Mann, but is teed up, apparently for saying something to Mann. Shakes his head and smiles wryly. Luka goes against Mann again, draws free throws, and hits both. Maxi airballs a three. Maxi makes a catch in the paint, but can’t make the bucket. 

21-26 after one

Mavs 0-7 from three-point land. Clips have a 7-0 advantage in fast break points, and a 12-6 rebounding edge. 

SECOND QUARTER

Mavs in a zone defense. Mann called for an OF, his third foul of the game. Maxi leaves one short. Don’t think he’s quite ready to go. Luka three disallowed due to defensive three-second call on the Clips. KP takes the technical free throw, knocks it down. Luka draws free throws from posting up Morris. Two of two. Luka airballs a three over Zubac. Meanwhile, both Coffey and Morris score. PG draws a charge against KP. DFS steps out of bounds. The Mavs don’t look sharp. Luka-KP alley oop. DFS misses another one from the corner, but gets a steal on the other end, and scores in transition. Mavs still 0-9 from three, being out-rebounded 9-17. 28-32 7:29

Luka sails one through Willie’s hands and into the stands. Jackson step-back over Willie. Luka called for offensive foul against Bledsoe. Bledsoe makes a meal of it. Third foul on Luka. Zubac over Willie. Sterling goes straight up on an offensive rebound. Brunson is limping off the court. Burke comes in to replace him. 32-37 4:56

THJ draws a foul driving against Luke Kennard. One of two. Brunson has left foot injury, questionable to return. Looked like Zubac fell on him. KP draws a foul on Zubac. Luka returns, despite his three fouls. Zubac hook shot over Luka. Mavs really settling on these long threes. PG gets his first bucket. Now, three fouls on Bledsoe. KP has to leave the court to get some bleeding from his face stopped, but returns to complete both free throws. DFS called for touch foul on PG, for a Clippers and-one. Luka cross-court pass intercepted, Coffey scores. Luka with the Mavs' first three! Clips called for an away-from-the-play foul by Coffey. One free throw, plus possession. DFS fouled by PG on the inbounds pass, hits one of two FTS. 

42-48 HT

Low-scoring game. Mavs are 1-14 from three. Really? Clips also have a 9-2 advantage in FB points, and have gained 13 points off Dallas turnovers. Mavs, however, have 19 FTAs and 17 makes. KP and Luka combine for 24 points for the Mavs. Jackson and George have 20 for LA. 

THIRD QUARTER

Luka-DFS lob-dunk. Oh, no, Luka called for his fourth foul. Not a smart foul, just a reach-in on Zubac, who was already being guarded by KP. Luka staying on the court. DFS bringing the ball up. Luka three. Luka to the rack! THJ fouls Reggie on an unlikely attempt. KP three on a second-chance opportunity. Luka gives Dallas the lead with another three from downtown. Luka imposing his will. 57-56 8:36

Zubac takes it back with a put back over KP. DFS bricks a WIDE open shot. Clips get a tech for two delay-of-game penalties. Willie drives and scores. KP with an athletic put-back of THJ miss. Wins the Oculus Unbelievable Play of the Day. Jackson over Luka. Jackson three over Powell. DFS air balls another open three. Mavs get a couple of ORs, but can’t capitalize. Jalen will not return. Timmy hits a beauty from Luka. Then is called for his fourth foul. Sterling goes in for him. Luka rainbow over Hartenstein! Luka says hello to the winda. 70-70 2:43

Terence Mann called for a flagrant one on Powell. Dwight misses both free throws. Burke fouled on a three-point attempt. Fifth foul on Mann. Trey hits all three of his freebies. Reggie Jackson again. I wish the Mavs would try to figure this guy out. Burke with a jump shot. Jackson again. KP finds Sterling Brown at the rim. OMG! Inbounds pass downcourt to Sterling Brown who hits the three! Excellent! 

80-76 after three

Third quarter is 38-28 Mavs. Luka has 15 of those points, and played 10 minutes with four fouls. Now, that’s a superstar move! 

FOURTH QUARTER

Burke running point. KP turns the ball over out of bounds. KP pass stolen, Bledsoe fouled by Maxi. Four on Maxi now. PG ties the game. KP blocks George’s dunk attempt. Bledsoe is switched on to KP, which is rather humorous. Luka loses the ball, Kennard three. DFS open on a three, but drives and scores instead. Willie draws a foul on Hartenstein. THJ pull-up from the baseline. Hartenstein over Maxi. DFS baseline cut for a jam, from Willie! 88-87 7:26

DFS with a corner three! Finally! KP from downtown! Kleber’s pass deflected out of bounds. Clutch time. Timmy with a three. DFS with another corner three! 100-92 4:14

Jackson with an airball over DFS, in what Harp calls the best defensive play of the night. Luka-MK slam dunk off the inbounds pass. Kleber blocks Mann. Reggie bucket and Kennard three reduce the lead from 10 to 5. 102-97 59 seconds

Clipper turnover. 102-97 20 seconds 

Jump ball between KP and Mann, off the inbounds pass. Mann wins the tip. Hardaway takes the foul to give. 102-97 10 seconds

Jackson three. Maxi fouled. Could ice the game, but hits only one of two free throws. Clippers take their last timeout. 103-100 1.1 seconds

Boban guarding the inbounds. OMG, PG hits the desperation three. Play being reviewed. It’s good. Overtime, here we come. Clips were 11-1 down the stretch. Aaaagh.

103-103 after four

OVERTIME

KP putback. Maxi left WIDE open in the corner. He hits! Morris passes to the Mavs bench! A wedgie by Jackson. KP-PG jump ball at center court. Balll ends up in Luka’s hands. Kicked ball by Mann. KP to the basket for a slam! 110-103 2:28

PG miss at the rim. Luka scoop no good. Reggie with another wedgie! Mann faces KP for the jump ball. Mann wins the tip, but is called for a loose ball foul on KP after the jump. Coach’s challenge. Unsuccessful. Mann has fouled out. KP called for a T for clapping at the official. PG hits the free throw. Luka miss, but KP OR, and KP scores. Clippers miss. Luka step-back miss. PG misses, Mavs run the shot clock out. Clips miss their last shot. 

112-104 FT


ANALYSIS

Both teams shot poorly overall, with the Mavs having a 4-shot advantage in attempts, and a 7-shot edge in 3PTA. Point differentials were +4 on points from twos, +6 on points from threes, and -2 on made free throws. Forcing turnovers was a key strategy for both teams. The Mavs had 11 steals, and won 22 points off Clippers turnovers (while giving up 25 on their own giveaways). It all came down to the overtime period, which the Mavs won 9-1.


PLAYER NOTES

DFS (49 min). Doe-Doe played an incredible 49 of the 53 minutes of the game, and the Mavs needed every one of those. After starting the game with a few bricks, he re-laced his scoring boots and had a season-high 17 points and 3 steals. He also was instrumental in limiting Clippers star Paul George. What a stalwart!

DONCIC (41). Luka took a half to get going, but caught fire in the third quarter, playing with four fouls. He almost had a triple-double, with a 26-9-9 line, and guided his team to a win as only he can. According to KP, Luka takes a lot of pressure off everyone else, and the players feel more comfortable when he is on the court. Amazing performance, especially considering he was playing through  pain and was a game-time decision. Kidd complimented him for making the right decisions when he was double-teamed, whether passing or fighting through them. Luka confessed to being quite tired after the game, but he held up fine. Welcome back, young man!

HARDAWAY (41). Another mediocre shooting night from Timmy (5-17, 2-10 3PTA), but Kidd relied on him for most of the game, and he had some good plays. His durability was appreciated on a night when the guards seemed to be dropping like flies. 

PORZINGIS (40). This may have been KP’s best game of the season, with 30 points and 7 rebounds. Playing aggressively, he drew a team-high 10 free throws and completed every one. Kidd said that KP is playing at a very high level, and noted that KP didn’t force anything. Excellent Luka-KP combination.

KLEBER (36). Maxi started out a little shaky, but ended up strong, with an 8-9-6 line, along with a couple steals and a block. He seemed to be still catching up in his second game back, but looked great in an eventual leap forward. He was in the closing unit, which consisted of the starters, with Maxi in for Willie. If we were nitpicking, we would note that Maxi could have sealed the game if he had made his second free throw late in regulation (as Kidd did), but in light of events, we might as well not mention it. 

MENTIONS. The above five players absorbed the bulk of the minutes. However, the role players also contributed. WILLIE (17) had 2 points, 2 rebounds, and a steal, and had a few impressive plays. Kidd thought he did a very good job in a starting role. BRUNSON (11) unfortunately had to retire from the court with a left foot injury after Zubac fell on him. We hope it’s nothing serious, but await an update. STERLING (10) had 7 points and 4 rebounds, and an exciting series of plays in the third quarter. BURKE (10) held down the fort when Luka was in foul trouble and Frank and Brunson were out. POWELL (9) did not score, but Kidd thought he did a good job off the bench. BOBAN had a 1-second cameo guarding the inbounds pass on the last play of regulation. 

MOSES and GREEN had DNP-CDs. No update on FRANK. 

CLIPPERS. I really wish the Mavs could get a handle on Reggie Jackson. That pesky little guy had a game-high 31 points, along with 10 boards and 3 steals. Paul George ended up with 26 points, largely on the strength of 11-12 FTA. Thanks to Dorian’s tenacious defense, he was limited to 7-23 from the field, and 1-6 from three. Marcus Morris, Jr. and Ivica Zubac each added 10 points for the Clips. 


OBSERVATIONS

Kidd was proud of the performance, particularly the defense, which he adjudged to be great throughout the game. In the first half, his team defended well, but couldn’t make a shot. When the shotmaking started turning, they were able to recover. He commended his guys for changing coverages on the fly and not giving up on the last game before Thanksgiving. 

Asked about the 11-1 run by the Clippers at the end of regulation, Kidd admitted that they just didn’t do some of the little things. They didn’t think Paul George had enough time to make the last shot after the deflection, but observed that that’s what stars do to you. He admired his guys for coming back strong in overtime.  

I think we can be proud of this victory over the league’s #2 defense. It was great to see Luka playing at a superstar level again. It seemed like that fourth foul in the first minute of the second half served to galvanize him. After pleading to stay on the floor, he unleashed his talents on the Clippers, to devastating effect. He also serves as a stabilizing influence over this team at the ends of games, and that was in evidence in this match. Porzingis looked very good, and DFS deserves a shout-out, as well. I like it. 


NEXT. The Mavs face the Wizards at the AAC on Saturday. It’s good to go into the holiday on a high note. 

Happy Thanksgiving, MFFLs!