The LA Clippers’ rejiggered rotation helped them win game 3, taking a 2-1 series lead over the Dallas Mavericks. Kawhi Leonard’s play argued for his retention of the current-king-of-all-players belt. But the biggest story may be Luka Doncic’s injured ankle and if, or when, the young star can return.
Game Recap
First, Doc Rivers plugged the Clippers’ Patrick Beverley-shaped hole in the starting lineup with Landry Shamet. Then, after a 7-0 first-quarter run by the Mavericks wiped out a Clipper advantage, Doc replaced the embattled Reggie Jackson-Lou Williams-Montrezl Harrell lineup with one backstopped by Ivica Zubac. With the foundation reinforced, Kawhi Leonard had sufficient runway from which to take off, and no Maverick was able to keep him grounded.
Kawhi scored 36 points two nights after tallying 35 and stemmed the flow of every Dallas rush, utterly controlling a 130-122 victory for the LA Clippers. His sensational patience and velveteen touch resulted in a basket on nearly every possession the Clippers needed one. His eight assists evidenced his central playmaking role, as he picked out cutters and shooters from all levels of the floor. With herculean strength, Kawhi bludgeoned opponents in the paint and earned 10 tries from the free-throw line. (He made nine.) He was a freight train and a whirlwind and Maxi Kleber was the poor soul designated to slow him. Maxi Kleber couldn’t.
But for all of Kawhi’s supremacy, he was pretty damn good in Game 2 too, and look what that earned the Clippers. In this Game 3, it was Kawhi’s teammates (and coaches) who stepped it up.
Ivica Zubac asserted his influence early, barricading the rim and turning Luka Doncic’s once-promising drives into fruitless wanderings. Zubac was a stone wall, and his game-high plus-13 rating was built atop it. Doc recognized Zubac’s stalwart performance and relied on the young center for a season-high 30 minutes, including, thankfully, the closing kick of the final quarter.
With his attempts at penetration stymied, Luka struggled, converting just three of his 10 first-half field goal attempts and shockingly missing six of 10 free-throw tries. Early on, no Clipper or Maverick could buy a shot, and the teams combined to make just three of their 16 combined three-pointers in a bruising first quarter. Frustrations led to fouls, and fouls begat foul mouths, with Luka and fellow postseason debutante Kristaps Porzingis reacting to the Clippers’ handsy ways with angry remonstrations. One of Luka’s early entanglements with Montrezl even led to the very weird tandem double-foul and double-technical-foul call.
Unfortunately for Luka, those bruises would pale in severity to the knock he took in the third quarter, when Kawhi inadvertently kneed him high in the ankle he tweaked in Game 1. Luka left the game, hopping one-footed up the ramp into the locker room, and while he returned briefly in the final quarter, he was conspicuously hobbled and checked out for good shortly thereafter.
Luka’s recovery will define the remainder of this series. The Clippers made considerable adjustments for this game, challenging Dallas Head Coach Rick Carlisle for the next response. His test now becomes exponentially more complex if he has to plan around the absence of his high-usage star.
According to the Mavericks, Luka recorded the first postseason triple-double in franchise history, and became the third-youngest player to hit those marks in NBA history, behind only Magic Johnson and LeBron James. Such statistical excellence evinces the problem that may now be at hand. How do you replace the player who does so much for you?
Well, Seth Curry might be a good place to start. For yet another night, the younger Curry tortured his father-in-law (Doc Rivers, if you hadn’t heard one of the twenty-nine mentions) with a shooting spectacle reminiscent of his more accomplished brother. Curry scored a career playoff-high 22 points on nine-for-11 shooting, canned all four of his threes, and helped propel the Mavericks during their many non-Luka minutes.
Curry scored ten of his points in the fourth, mostly against the Clippers’ death lineup (Reggie-Lou-Trezz, naturally) as Doc spent some of his double-digit lead to steal some extra rest for his starters. For three games now, Curry has been a walking bucket. He and Porzingis, who led the Mavericks with 34 points and five threes, may have to shoulder an even heavier load.
They’ll do so against a Clippers starting unit that looks dramatically sharper. Paul George may have been the least impactful starter tonight, which is a credit to the potency of this fearsome five-some. And even though his shot is still MIA (3-16 FG and 1-8 3PT, yikes!), George still contributed in other ways, like with nine rebounds, seven assists, and typically long-limbed defense.
If Kawhi and Zubac paved the way for the win, it was Shamet and Marcus Morris Sr. who cemented it. Shamet improved upon Reggie Jackson’s defensive play simply by making fewer mistakes. That he added 18 points and probably the play of the night was a pleasant bonus.
Shamet’s slam came in the Clippers’ 45-point second quarter, a resounding exclamation that the team would follow the Bucks and Lakers in answering the title-contending bell.
Morris, likewise, made his mark at both ends of the court. And in defending Luka over the full-length of the court, he covered everything in between too. Tasked with checking the Mavericks’ engine early and often, Morris was a key impediment to Luka’s success. Morris further rewarded the Clippers’ faith in him by nailing four catch-and-shoot tries from deep.
With the starters dominating, the revered Clippers bench needed only to play their Dallas counterparts to a standstill, and they mostly did. Despite some notable pains in the first and final quarters, they found enough scoring spark to essentially hold serve. Lou and Trezz rekindled some of their old magic, combining for 23 points in reserve. Jackson, when he wasn’t taking needless gambles, at least shot true from distance.
The kids even got some surprise run, with Terance Mann and Amir Coffey seeing the floor for spot-defensive duty at the end of the third. Coffey’s hustle won a loose ball that led to another Shamet highlight, a buzzer-beating three. Although, it’s a wonder what Rodney McGruder has done to deserve this cold shoulder.
While the final difference was just eight points, a deficit matched multiple times throughout not-quite-restful fourth quarter, the distance between these two teams’ performances was greater. That the Mavericks kept it close is testament to their offensive combustibility, and as our own Lucas Hann has pointed out, may be why they contested, and lost, so many apparently close games this season.
Without Luka Doncic, that distance would be even greater. His ability to play, and play unencumbered, will be key to Dallas’ hopes for the remainder of the series. Although, if these Clippers show up again and again, it may not matter.
Game 3 Notes
More Mavericks: Tim Hardaway Jr. added 22 points and four more threes. The wonderful Boban Marjanovic, so rampant in Game 2, was corralled tonight. He managed just three points.
Never cold for long: At halftime, the Mavericks had made just five three-pointers. They splashed 12 in the second half.
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