Luka Doncic can’t win Dallas on his own. However, he was close to achieving it, in this game 6 of the first round lost to the Clippers (111-97), ejecting the Mavericks from the Orlando bubble (series lost 4-2).
Led by 23 points halfway through the third quarter (77-54), Dallas was able to count on the Slovenian rear to cast doubt on the Clippers: author of 15 points in the first half, he scored 16 in the third quarter (to finish at 38 points and on the bench for the last two minutes), bringing the Mavericks to 6 points of Los Angeles, the gap that separated the two teams at halftime.
More consistent than Doncic over the six meetings of the series, Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points (14 rebounds, 7 assists), including 28 in the racket (14/23). His teammates Paul George and Ivica Zubac brought 15 points to the Clippers (11 rebounds for Zubac). Dallas side, Dorian Finney-Smith scored 16 points.
In the Conference semifinals, the Clippers will meet the series winner between Denver and Utah.
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