On Wednesday night, the Dallas Mavericks throttled the LA Clippers to move within one game of advancing to the second round. Game 4 saw the Clippers build a 31-point lead, only for Dallas to briefly take the lead in the final minutes of regulation. The Clippers ultimately prevailed, but they put up zero fight in Game 5.
After criticizing his performance in Game 4, Luka Doncic put together his best game of the series to lead Dallas to a 30-point win (123-93) in Los Angeles Wednesday night. Playing on a sprained knee and with a cold, Doncic had his way with LA’s defense throughout the game — finishing with 35 points and 10 assists.
Doncic admitted after the victory that he likely wouldn’t be playing if it were the regular season given the state of his knee, but added that the playoffs are an entirely different thing.
“It’s the playoffs,” said Doncic. “When you start the game in the playoffs, it’s a different thing. There’s a lot of adrenaline, a lot of emotions. So you just keep going. Obviously, my shooting is not great. Not even good. Very bad actually. I was just getting downhill. The first four 3s I took felt great, just didn’t go in, but my whole mentality was just getting downhill.”
Doncic finished the game 2-of-8 from beyond the arc and is now shooting 26.3-percent for the series. Kyrie Irving, meanwhile, didn’t have to put up huge numbers thanks to Doncic’s explosion. Following a 40-point effort in Game 4, Irving posted 14 points, six assists and four rebounds — leading to a team-high +35.
While Doncic flourished, the Clippers laid an egg. Paul George went 4-of-13 for 15 points, James Harden contributed seven points on 2-of-12 from the field, and Russell Westbrook finished 2-of-11 for six points.
“We’re not going to hang our heads. We got to win four games. We go to Dallas, Game 6 on Friday and we’ll be ready to go,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said.
