The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 114-101 at American Airlines Center, with Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić scoring 58 points combined. With the victory, the Mavericks won the best-of-seven series 4-2, and will now begin a best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals series against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.
Irving scored 28 of his 30 points in the second half, while Dončić ended with 28 points and 13 assists. The Mavs broke a 52-52 deadlock at intermission and defeated the Clippers to end their season.
It was the Mavericks’ first postseason series victory at home since 2011, when they defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games in the Western Conference Finals. The Mavericks also exorcised the Clippers, who eliminated them in the opening rounds of the 2020 and 21 playoffs.
The Mavericks won a playoff series for only the third time since winning the NBAa championship in 2011. The other series wins came in 2022, when they defeated the Utah Jazz in six games in the first round of the playoffs and then eliminated the Phoenix Suns in seven games in the Western Conference semifinals.
In addition to Irving and Dončić, the Mavs received 14 points and five rebounds from P.J. Washington, 13 points and six boards from Daniel Gafford, and 10 points and nine rebounds from Dereck Lively II.
The Clippers were led by Norman Powell (20 points), Paul George (18 points and 11 rebounds), Ivica Zubac (17 points and 11 rebounds), and James Harden (16 points and 13 assists).
Irving scored an early bucket on a fast break layup to start the second half, and the Mavs took control of the game. Dončić and Irving’s three-pointers gave the Mavs a 60-52 lead with 10:11 remaining in the third quarter, prompting the Clippers to seek a timeout.
Things got worse for the Clippers as Gafford played bully ball and scored over Zubac. Gafford, who was fouled on the play, converted the three-point play and added a dunk off an offensive rebound.
With 5:28 remaining in the third quarter, the Mavs had a 72-58 lead thanks to Dončić’s inside shot and Irving’s downtown goal. Lively scored inside, Derrick Jones Jr. banged home a dunk off a pass from Dončić, and Irving wriggled free from P.J. Tucker and scored, finishing the three-point play after being fouled.
Dallas led 106-82 with 5:38 remaining in the game, spoiling Clippers coach Tyronn Lue’s 47th birthday.
The Mavs had the crowd on their side and all the momentum going their way after they mounted a 46-33 lead with over five minutes remaining before halftime when Dončić lofted a lob pass inside to Josh Green. But the Clippers went on a 19-4 run and took a 52-50 lead with 24.4 seconds left in the second quarter when Harden darted from Gafford’s blind side near midcourt and stole the ball and bolted downhill for a layup.
Gafford made amends shortly thereafter with a dunk that tied the game at 52-52 at the half.
Dončić had 18 points and seven assists in the first half, but he missed all seven of his three-pointers in the opening half. Meanwhile, Irving was just 1-of-6 for two points in the first half, and his only points came when Dončić fired a length of the court pass to the Mavs’ shooting guard for a layup that gave Dallas a 42-32 lead with 7:25 remaining in the first half.
Less than a minute into the second quarter, the Mavs were dealt a serious blow when Maxi Kleber fell hard on the floor after a foul by Amir Coffey. Kleber shot his two free throws, then went to the locker room with an exasperated look on his face and was diagnosed with a right shoulder sprain.
With Dončić fueling the action, the Mavs led, 20-10, early on, and 34-26 after the first quarter. Dončić popped in 14 of his points in the first quarter. It was a quarter that saw the Mavs out-rebound the Clippers, 17-11, including a massive 10-4 advantage on the offensive end.
Now, it’s on to Oklahoma City for a Red River shootout against a Thunder team was the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference this season.