The Slovenian Luka Doncic extended his streak of consecutive games with more than twenty points in the playoffs to 21 this Friday and led the Dallas Mavericks' 101-90 victory against the Los Angeles Clippers, in a fierce duel marked by the expulsions of PJ Washington and Russell Westbrook.
Mavericks and Clippers are not friendly franchises. It is the third time they have met in the postseason in the last five years and they have always featured high-voltage games, marked by sparks and controversies. This Friday in Dallas was no exception and saw the Texans come out winners to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
Doncic finished the duel with 22 points, ten rebounds and nine assists and led a solid victory for his team, which accelerated in the second period and always had a double-digit advantage in the second half. He was supported by Kyrie Irving who scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half, while Derek Lively contributed thirteen points off the bench.
The Clippers, who had won the first game of the series in Los Angeles before losing at home in the second, paid for their 19 turnovers, too many to be able to compete with the Mavericks who have changed pace since the All-Star break and They are in great shape.
James Harden and Norman Powell, coming off the bench, were the Clippers' leading scorers on a lackluster night for Paul George (7 points, 3 of 11 from the field) and little prominence for Kawhi Leonard, who only played 25 minutes.
He finished his duel with nine points and nine rebounds, but he also lost four turnovers, unusual for him. He spent long periods of the game sitting on the bench and seems to be far from the best version of himself.
And although the Mavericks were always in charge of the operations, the game was marked by a lot of intensity and aggressiveness between the two teams. Terence Mann and PJ Washington faced off in the fourth quarter and their altercation resulted in a double technical. Shortly after, Wesbrook committed a hard foul on Doncic that started a new fight.
Westbrook had previously knocked down Doncic in a defensive play and, after his second foul, confronted the Slovenian. PJ Washington then intervened by pushing him and Westbrook reacted by trying to hit him in the chest. The referees, after reviewing what happened, called a double technical on Westbrook and a technical on Washington, which, together with the first whistle for his altercation with Mann, caused both players to end up being sent off. For Westbrook it was the first ejection of his playoff career.
Irving was in charge of sealing the game with some spectacular plays, including a magnificent jump basket against the marking of center Ivica Zubac. With 19 points in the second half, Irving was able to sit on the bench with 2.47 minutes left at a comfortable 96-81. Doncic did it shortly after, after reaching 22 points from the free line and sealing a great victory against the Clippers who were the third best team in the regular season away from home.
The fourth game of the series will be played, again in Dallas, next Sunday.
