Did Marcus Morris intentionally step on Luka Doncic’s sprained left ankle? If Mavs needed extra motivation for Game 6, they got it

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida – It’s not like the Mavericks needed more incentive, additional reasons to go beyond the 154-111 beating they received from the Clippers Tuesday night and focus on one game, that has to be won now, but they have some anyway.

The Clippers’ total score and 43-point margin, the first of which set and the second set Mavericks franchise records of the infamous kind, would have been fuel enough. But Clippers striker Marcus Morris did better. He stepped on Luka Doncic’s sprained left ankle.

And some people who saw repetition from different angles believe that Morris’s kick was purposeful.

“I saw it, of course. I have my own thoughts, ”Doncic said when I asked about the piece. “I hope it wasn’t intended. Tell me what you think?”

“Uh, it was very questionable,” I replied.

“I just hope it wasn’t intended,” Doncic said, trying to be diplomatic but get his message across. “Everyone will have their own thoughts.”

The game took place just 55 seconds in the second half, with the Clippers leading 81-52. It was no one within 12 feet of the couple when Morris stepped on Doncic’s foot from behind and loosened Doncic’s shoe.

When asked if Morris offered an explanation after the game when he and Doncic stood next to each other on the free throw line waiting for a free throw, Doncic made it clear that he was not interested in chatting with Morris.

“I don’t want to talk to him. He just tells me a lot of bad stuff in all of the games. I don’t want to talk to him. I just have to keep going. As I said, everyone will have their own opinion. I just hope it wasn’t intended. If that was on purpose, it was really bad. “

There was no miracle rally or Doncic drama that night. For the latter, the deficit should have been within a reasonable range.

As the Mavericks learned, winning this crucial playoff game without Kristaps Porzingis is a lot harder than Doncic and Dallas made it look like in Game 4.

When Porzingis was back with a sore right knee, the Clippers fell and kept falling until the chance of Luka Magic Part II was gone.

How crucial was this thorough defeat that brought Los Angeles 3-2 up? In NBA history, the team that won Game 5 of a series of seven games 2-2 won 82.2% (171-37) of the time.

“It’s a shame,” said Clippers coach Doc Rivers of Porzingis’ absence.

“There have actually been more injuries, not just on our team, but on many teams, than I thought,” said Rivers, whose team had more than its share of injuries in the bladder.

“In the playoffs you really want everyone to be healthy and just duel.”

This wasn’t a big duel, at least on the scoreboard. The teams, however, spent much of the game verbally abusing each other, with the loudest taunt coming from the Clippers’ sidelines.

That should add spice and excitement to Thursday’s sixth game, but the Mavericks need Porzingis to return to have a realistic chance of taking the series to Game 7.

Or maybe Morris and the Clippers did enough extra persuasion for them to get over even Porzingis’ absence if it did again.

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, who drew his second technical game and was kicked out in the middle of the third quarter, didn’t want to elaborate on what he thought after seeing the replay of the Morris incident, but it was clear from the look on his face that he was was upset.

“I saw it,” he said. “I definitely hope that wasn’t the case. That’s all I’ll say about it. “

Clippers forward Paul George broke Tuesday night with 35 points out of 12 out of 18 shots from his streak-long shooting slump (29% in Game 5).

Dallas led 16-9, but the advantage quickly vanished during a 24-2 Clippers blitzkrieg that lasted only 4:03.

Doncic scored 22 points, pulled 8 rebounds down and had 4 assists, well behind his 43-17-13 performance for the ages and his 3-pointer win in the 135-133 Mavericks win of Game 4.

The question is: is there any chance Porzingis will return for Game 6? Carlisle shared some details on Porzingis’ forecast ahead of the game, citing health restrictions.

“There are a lot of things we’re doing to him right now,” he said. “I can’t go into details. Trying to move it in one direction to see if it can be available for game 6 but the bottom line is the short answer is that it is simply not available tonight.

“And even trying to play it or talk about it would be wrong, so we move from day to day. He’s getting a little better every day, but beyond that, I can’t really tell you anything. “

Along with the Morris game, there was game-long chatter from the Clippers sideline, which after the halftime summer resulted in Mavericks striker Dorian Finney-Smith and several Mavericks coaches staying near the bench as they headed to the Clippers sideline screamed.

“I mean, they tweeted a lot the whole series,” said Maverick’s guard Tim Hardaway Jr. “So we did a great job of getting ahead twice and winning twice. We have to focus on doing the same thing and getting back on our feet on Thursday as we did in this whole series. “

Porzingis started the day with a questionable name. On Monday, Carlisle had pointed out that the promising news was that the MRI exam Porzingis had on Sunday didn’t rule him out for Game 5.

Then, before Tuesday noon, Porzingis was actually expelled.

“We could have said it was doubtful, but what’s the point?” Carlisle said. “He’s out. And that’s how we are today and look, we hope that things move in a good direction tomorrow and see where we are Thursday.”

This was the Mavericks’ 80th game of the season and the 20th without Porzingis.

Simple math tells us he missed a quarter of the season, not what fans and maybe even the Mavericks had in mind when Dallas acquired him on January 31, 2019.

Or last July when he signed a record five-year franchise deal for a maximum of $ 158 million.

However, the franchise’s Brain Trust repeatedly warned that Porzingis’ long-term health would be a priority this season as the 7-foot-3 Latvian after 20 months of not playing in a regular season game due to the left ACL, He suffered a returned tear in February 2018.

It was a given that Porzingis would miss a few games this season, especially situations in a row. What no one expected, however, was that it would be the other knee, his right one, that would result in him missing 12 games.

In late December and early January Porzingis missed 10 games in a row with pain in his right knee. When Porzingis and the Mavericks returned from the NBA’s four-month coronavirus hiatus, Porzingis said his body felt better and stronger than ever.

However, Porzingis said that something happened to his right knee in Game 1 of this series. It was questionable whether he should play in Game 2, but he still scored 23 points and pulled seven rebounds down.

Before Game 3, he had a “likely” designation on his injury report, but there was a bruise on his left heel. The knee was not mentioned, so it came as a shock to many when it was dropped from the line-up minutes before Game 4 started.

For more Mavericks stories, see The Dallas Morning News Here.