The Los Angeles Clippers fall to 1-2 in the first-round series with the Dallas Mavericks after dropping two consecutive games and losing the first on the road in Dallas 101-90.
Plagued by injury, Clippers star Kawhi Leonard struggled in Game 3 after returning from missing nine consecutive games coming into Game 2. He played for 25 minutes, contributing nine points, nine rebounds, and four turnovers, but claimed his knee “just didn’t respond the way we wanted” after he played Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena for Game 2.
“Like I said, it didn’t respond the way we wanted it to,” Leonard said when describing his knee. “Tonight it was either play limited minutes or not play. And I wanted to be on the floor to help the team. And, that’s what the results are. Frustrating that it happened to me this late in the season. But, yeah, we’re going to keep going. We’re going to get it right.”
Leonard wasn’t the only Clipper struggling in Game 3. Paul George struggled with foul trouble throughout the game, managing just seven points on a three-for-11 shooting performance from the field and one-for-six from beyond the arc. George played 30 minutes, he ended the game with five fouls.
“I got to be better because I felt good rhythm-wise to start the game off and then pick up those [fouls] and get sent to the bench, and then it just felt like the whole game I couldn’t find how to be aggressive and create contact and balance all of that while trying to stay within the offense and move the ball and play off the ball, play aggressive and downhill”, George said. “It was just a lot I was thinking about. Took me out of my game. I got to be better. It really was frustrating, though”, George explained after the game.
The 90 points scored by the Clippers in Game 3 marked the lowest-scoring performance by a Mavericks opponent this season, encompassing both the regular season and playoffs.
James Harden and Norman Powell led the Clippers in scoring with 21 points each and Ivica Zubac had his second great performance in this series with 19 points and eight rebounds.
The Clippers shot 41% from the field on 16 of 39 shooting and shot 41% from three-point distance going 7 of 17 in the first half.
Luka Doncic led the charge for the Mavericks scoring 14 of his 22 points in the first half to help Dallas take a 54-41 lead into halftime. The Mavericks shot 23 of 45 from the field for 51%.
Irving showcased his scoring prowess by tallying 19 of his 21 points in the second half, with 11 points coming in the final quarter to help the Mavericks reach a 21-point lead which was their largest of the game.
The Mavericks shot 39% in the second half on 16 of 41 attempts but their defense kept the Clippers in check and allowed them to maintain the lead.
The Clippers shot 51% on 16 of 31 shooting in the second half but never was able to string together a run to cut into the deficit.
The game reached a boiling point in the fourth as tempered flared due to frustration on the Clippers’ end. Russell Westbrook who was having a frustrating night offensively with only 1 point and going 0-7 from the field got into a shoving match with Luka Doncic with spiraled into an altercation with PJ Washington and ultimately ended with both Westbrook and Washington getting ejected.
“We’ve got to channel our aggression in other ways,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “It’s getting chippy. I like the physicality. I like the tough possessions. I like all of that. But we’ve got to make sure we’re not getting the technical fouls, we’re not getting thrown out of the game, because everybody’s important.”
The Clippers now prepare for a pivotal Game 4 showdown Sunday which some might call a must-win for the Clippers because they can’t afford to go down 3-1 because according to NBA insider Marc Stein, teams that go up 3-1 in a best-of-seven series have a 258-13 record for a winning percentage of 95.2.
