DALLAS – After a blowout loss to the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets, the Dallas Mavericks bounced back with a 120-111 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers at American Airlines Center on Wednesday. The Mavs dropped to 16-11 overall, while the Clippers are now 17-10 and won the season series 2-1. 

Both teams were without key players, with All-Stars Kyrie Irving (broken right heel) and Paul George (illness) topping the list of players sidelined. The Mavs are without Dereck Lively II (left ankle sprain), Josh Green (right elbow sprain) and Maxi Kleber (right big toe dislocation). 

From the start, instead of making quick stops to force the ball out of Doncic’s hands early and create a 4-on-3 situation, the Clippers switched to filling the gaps and making late double-doubles when he attacked. downhill work. The general strategy also involves loading up the paint while making some concessions to weaker shooters. 

Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers

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The basic strategy worked as the Slovenian superstar missed his first six shots from the field before scoring the final goal with a spin off the post against a smaller defender, scoring a late brace as he completed the floater for an and-one. 

The Clippers then deployed Kawhi Leonard as the primary defender against Doncic to eliminate inconsistent hunting, leading the Mavs to use him more as a ball screener to create clean driving lanes will give it to teammates. However, Dallas wants to play more with the Horns along the way, ideally creating a clearer situation for Doncic to attack with first touch without dribbling.

Ready to defend the paint, the Mavs converted the 1-5 frequently, trusting Dwight Powell and Markieff Morris and performing double-doubles against Leonard, especially on the touch downs. There were flaws in Dallas’ transition approach while also struggling to stop dribble penetration. 

The Clippers converted at a much stronger rate than the Mavs in the opening quarter, taking a 35-22 lead. In a rare slow start for Doncic, Leonard was the game’s leading scorer (10 points) after one quarter. Doncic had seven points and three assists but struggled to convert overall. 

The Mavs are at a clear disadvantage in terms of available firepower when Doncic is on the bench. In a typical situation, they would have Irving run the reserve group in the second half, but instead, Dante Exum was the lone ball handler. Meanwhile, Harden and Westbrook orchestrated the Clippers’ offense, building an 18-point lead (45-27) at the 8:54 mark. Doncic took control of the game amid struggles to prevent the deficit from getting out of hand.

Doncic spent his second-quarter possessions doing a combination of offensive plays and playing elbows on the Horns. The Clippers became more aggressive in taking advantage of space against Doncic in those Horns sets after he had previously had success attacking downhill earlier in the match. 

The Clippers primarily ran their offense through Harden throughout the second half, attacking mismatches with switches and executing double-pull screens. With Los Angeles shooting consistently, the Mavs struggled to keep up even with Doncic on the floor early on, leading by as many as 22 points, but after that, they built some momentum. 

Doncic found a rhythm midway through the second half by attacking earlier in the clock. He often uses Derrick Jones Jr. and then Tim Hardaway Jr. frequently acts as a ball screener inside empty corner situations to force players to have space to attack. He converted a turnaround jumper in the post, followed by a step-back 3, causing the Clippers to call a timeout with 4:58 left after the Mavs cut the deficit to 15 points. The Slovenian superstar continues to look for weaknesses to exploit and succeed after a slow start.

A pair of 3-pointers from Hardaway helped the Mavs finish the first half up 11 points after regularly leading by 15 points or more throughout the second half. Doncic finished the quarter with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists while shooting 7-17 from the floor, 2-7 from deep and 5-6 on free throws. The Clippers shot 59.0% from the floor, compared to the Mavs’ 41.7% clip. 

The Mavs deploy a small-ball lineup with Ivica Zubac still on the floor, including Doncic, Exum, Hardaway, Williams and Jones to provide a faster, more versatile defensive unit and better half-court spacing. It leads to a significant advantage, often forcing turnovers and misses before getting into transition.

Hardaway’s drive and layup early in the third quarter, followed by a layup from Grant Williams, cut the Mavs’ deficit to just seven points. Dallas continued to rally, ending the steal with a layup that left Hardaway ahead just 69-64 at the 9:29 mark. Dallas’ small-ball group eventually pulled off a remarkable rally to cut the Clippers’ lead to just one point before returning Dwight Powell to the lineup.

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During the Mavs’ run, Doncic remained the focal point of the Clippers’ aggressive defensive approach in the half court throughout the Mavs’ run. He often played tackles from the far corner and acted as a decoy, looking for weak-side threats to attack, but only scored one point. Most of the production comes by pushing the pace after forcing turnovers or missed shots. 

The Clippers were aggressive by doubling Doncic with Powell on the floor, while the Mavs’ defensive execution struggled against a slower big man on the court. Los Angeles regained the lead to 10 points after this point. Dallas replaced Powell and had more space to operate, with Doncic making plays on offense and the defense forcing turnovers. Dallas led 85-83 entering the fourth quarter after successfully deploying a small group of balls to close the third quarter. 

Los Angeles began the fourth quarter with momentum as the Mavs’ smaller personnel struggled to close on defense, giving up several second-chance scoring opportunities. However, Dallas has tightened up its implementation. 

With the Clippers attacking Doncic, the team got creative, using Exum as a screener to attack from the short fairway and push the pace in transition when possible. The Mavs took advantage of Exum’s corner 3-pointer to take the lead, while the Clippers continued to make a late double-double on Doncic to get the ball out of his hands. 

Doncic then acted as a decoy for Exum, creating a driving layup and draining Jaden Hardy’s go-ahead 3-pointer from the corner. Dallas led 98-97 with 7:24 remaining in regulation, prompting a pause by the Clippers. The Mavs turned up the defensive intensity with full-court pressure, but Harden made multiple step-back 3s, which forced the teams to take the lead and tie the score. 

With the Clippers regularly making late double-doubles against Doncic, he found a way to take advantage of timely plays down the stretch of the game. He keeps the double team at one point long enough to force a rebound, then attacks downhill to find the floater. He often accepts coverage and moves the ball to create open shots. Hardaway took advantage with a 3-pointer, giving Dallas a 105-104 lead. 

Leonard began to leave his mark on the game as the Mavs offense ground to a halt. He drew two on a drive to get an out, leading to a one-out to Norman Powell on a cut, then attacked the baseline for a dunk. The Clippers led 116-110 with 1:47 remaining. Dallas was unable to refocus to close out the game.  

The Mavs return to action on Friday as they begin back-to-back action, starting with a road game against the Houston Rockets , followed by a home game against the San Antonio Spurs .