Paul George’s resurgence leads Los Angeles Clippers to Game 5 dominance by the Dallas Mavericks

Paul George was rightly criticized for his fights in recent games, but Playoff P made sure he was ready for the Clippers in their crucial Game 5.

After scoring a total of 34 points in his last three games in the 10-of-47 shooting from the field, George was 35 when Los Angeles dominated the Dallas Mavericks 154-111 in the Orlando Bubble on Tuesday, a 3-2 win -Round won series leadership.

The clips set a playoff record for Total Points, Field Target Percentage, and Points in Half and scored 3-point points, once again underscoring their dominance as the team to beat in the Western Conference. It also shattered the Dallas franchise record for points allowed in a postseason game.

George’s body language, aggressiveness and attitude were so much better than in the previous games when he hit 12 of his 18 field attempts. It seemed like a concerted effort for the Clippers to show George and each other better camaraderie and mutual support from the bench. In fact, it was a game they had to win in order to trade and play that way.

“The bubble has the best of me,” said George after the game. “I was in a dark place.”

George said he was lost in the bubble with no energy from fans. He thanked the people who had reached out to him, and he and the Clippers came out with the right energy and returned to his all-star ways.

And the Clippers win in a destructive way. Leonard had 32 points and eight rebounds as the Clippers of Marcus Morris, Montrezl Harrell, Landry Shamet and Reggie Jackson scored an even hit.

After Dallas took an early 16-9 lead, Los Angeles scored the next 16 points and 32 of the next 38 as the Clippers rose 41-22 after the first quarter. George had nine points on the 4-of-7 and Kawhi Leonard scored 15 when LA hit a ridiculous 16 of their 24 shots in the verse. Sixteen of those points were obtained from seven Maverick sales.

PG13 picked up his third foul in the middle of the second quarter, but hit four of his first five shots to end half at 18. His body language and demeanor looked much better and was ready to finally advance in the playoffs this year after four first-round losses. And with Kristaps Porzingis still out and Luka Doncic visibly limping with his ankle injury, LAlead 76-52 was behind 62.2% shooting and 22 points from Kawhi at halftime.

Just two days after an unprecedented triple doubles with 43 points, 17 rebounds and 13 assists with the game-winning buzzer three in overtime, Doncic’s ankle was more disturbing and not looking good itself. The 21-year-old shot 4:11 in the first half and 6:17 in the first half, scoring 22 points with eight rebounds, but missed five of his 14 free throws.

To keep George going, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers prepared the first game for him. Leonard was able to give PG13 the perfect praise for an alley-oop layup, and the following three gave him five quick points in 55 seconds when the router was on. Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle was thrown 6:42 in the third quarter after receiving two technical fouls in protesting a late Clippers challenge, and it was essentially garbage time from there.

Still without Patrick Beverley, who is left off the line-up with an injured calf, Inside The NBA’s Charles Barkley mentioned how the Los Angeles Lakers wiped Portland on Monday night, and maybe that bombardment was the Clippers’ reaction. Whatever the reason, the clips got their A-game on Tuesday, with George giving them the biggest boost in their main contest and casting out his playoff demons for now.