The Clippers beat the Mavs in a competitive game, 109 to 99. For a full recap of the Clippers’ win against the Mavericks, read on below.
Summary
The Clippers, throwing out a brand-new starting lineup, came out of the gates hot. They looked a lot more active on defense, and their getting stops led to easy looks in transition. In the halfcourt, Marcus Morris appeared invigorated, showing burst for the first time in a couple weeks in attacking off the dribble. Meanwhile, Ivica Zubac dominated the paint with a couple nice offensive rebounds and a putback. The Clippers slipped a bit when the reserves came in, but not too much, and their defense was only superseded by some tough shots from Jalen Brunson.
The second quarter was much less promising. Luka heated up, nailing a couple stepback threes, and while the Clippers answered, they were clearly flagging a bit. Paul George, in particular, struggled. He was clearly forcing on offense, taking contested jumpers in the teeth of the defense and making poor passes that got the Mavs out in transition. As he got more flustered, the Mavs grew in confidence, and they began to play more forcefully. Even with Luka out, the Mavs were able to garner a lead late in the period. Fortunately, a Marcus Morris-Reggie Jackson 8- run was able to put the Clippers back on top going into the half.
The seesaw continued in the third quarter, as the Clippers once again appeared rejuvenated. Their defense sharpened, though not quite to the level of the start of the game, and ball movement picked up. Paul George remained ice cold, but everyone else on the court stepped up, and the Clippers’ lead slowly grew. Kawhi Leonard played some of his best defense in weeks late in the period, and the turnovers he forced resulted in some easy Clippers’ looks on the other end. The Mavs refused to go away, however, and ultimately the Clippers’ edge only grew by two in the period.
The Clippers finally bucked their trend of alternating good and bad quarters with an overall solid 4th. Their offense started with some Lou Will magic, as he hit a three and then found Zu for a dunk to spark a swift 5-0 run. The Mavs, as they did all game, came roaring back, but the Clippers never let them take a lead. This was in large part due to the defense of Ivica Zubac and Kawhi Leonard, who were simply everywhere on the court. Ty Lue went small to close with Nic Batum over Zu after the Mavs closed the deficit to four points with three minutes remaining, but some scramble defense and one beautiful Paul George dagger gave the Clippers a hard-earned 109-99 victory.
Notes
Zu Shines: Ivica Zubac was the Clippers’ most consistent player in this one, and was only edged out for best overall player by Kawhi Leonard’s insane finish. He dominated the paint on defense, continually snuffing out Mavericks’ drives and swallowing up defensive rebounds. On offense, he finished strong around the basket, making seven of his eight shots and looking unstoppable near the rim. He also kept several possessions alive with his four offensive rebounds. And, perhaps most impressively, he looked phenomenal on defense out on the perimeter, hanging with Luka several times on switches and closing out hard on three point shooters. Simply put, he was fantastic from start to finish, and put together a better game than we’ve seen from Serge Ibaka all season. Serge is almost certainly going to keep starting when healthy, but it’s long past time for Zu to take the lion’s share of the center minutes.
Kawhi’s Defense: Kawhi Leonard’ statline tonight reads “good, but not great” – 22 points on 20 shots, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals. However, that doesn’t tell the whole story. In the second half, Kawhi took over the game on defense in a way we just haven’t seen much from him as a Clipper. He shut down Mavericks’ ball-handlers at the point of attack, got multiple steals by reading passing lanes, and forced numerous deflections. It maybe wasn’t peak Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi, but it was pretty damn close, and he and Zubac were the big reasons the Mavs scored only 99 points despite hitting 17 threes. It’s good to know Kawhi can still take over games in this fashion, and also a nice sign from him after he spoke about a lack of consistency after last night’s loss to the Pelicans, when he himself has been inconsistent on defense this season.
Tale of Two Marcus’: Marcus Morris had one of his best halves of the entire season in this one. He didn’t stop the ball, instead either shooting, attacking, or passing in short order. His defense was fine, and he at least showed good activity and energy on that end after lethargy last night. And, as he has most of the season, he shot lights out, hitting multiple threes as well as a couple short jumpers. He even had two gorgeous assists. In the second half, however, he reverted, with several poor attempts mixed in with two ugly turnovers, and no field goal makes. His energy and effort were there, especially on defense, but the decision-making on offense wasn’t, and that’s where the Clippers really need him. Ty Lue has said he is going to be the starter going forward, which is fine – he just needs to play within himself in that first half style as much as possible.
Pat Pat Limited: With Serge Ibaka out and Ivica Zubac playing big minutes, the Clippers’ options for backup center were limited. As predicted, Ty Lue mixed in some small-ball (Morris and Batum at center) with Patrick Patterson also getting reps. However, Patterson’s minutes were in the first half alone. He did make both of his shots (a spot up three and a surprisingly competent post-up on Tim Hardaway Jr.), but looked like his shoes were made of cement on defense. He just doesn’t bring anything to the table on that end outside of post defense – no rebounding, no shot blocking, no switchability, nada. He’s a good professional, and his shooting at least has minor utility, but he can’t be counted on for any minutes in a tough playoff setting.
That’s about it for this recap of the Clippers’ win against the Mavericks. Stay tuned for Lucas’ player grades, and for a new episode of TLTJTP!
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