About last night... Game 3 v Clippers

 

The Mavericks fell 130-122 to the Clippers in a "homecourt" game 3. It was great to see the Mavs fight back to get the score that close. Last night Luka rolled his ankle after taking a knee to the leg from Kawhi Leonard early in the third quarter. He tried to come back and play, but he looked like Dirk out there hobbling around. Seriously though, it looked painful. "It's not that bad... A little sprain. We'll know more tomorrow." Luka said after the game. We can only hope he recovers in time for 'Sunday's afternoon tipoff. Luckily it was his left ankle, not his right ankle that he has already tweaked a couple times this year. Luka will have an MRI to check the severity. 

The Clippers came out swinging. It was obvious they were trying to send a message to the young Mavs, but the Mavericks didn't back down. They saw through the fake tough guy act and went on a run of their own in the first. They would not be bullied. Unfortunately, the Mavs couldn't get anything to fall. In the first half, the Mavs were only able to knock down their threes at a 28% clip. Putrid. 

We all know what happened in the third quarter with Luka, but the Mavs were actually able to rally and cut the lead to 7. Kawhi dominated to close the game out, scoring 35 points and getting wherever he wanted. In the end, Dallas couldn't get a stop. Even though the three-pointers were falling and the lead was shrinking, the Clippers always found a way to respond. Here are some takeaways from the game.

Playoff P

This guy stinks. Really. He is playing awful, its nothing new for him in the playoffs though. It seems he's taking his matchup against Seth very personally and getting cooked for it every time. Seth is playing incredibly against him and PG can't stand it. He even extends contests after the whistle! There is some history between the two. Not only did PG date AND cheat on Callie Rivers (Seth's wife) in the past, but Seth was also the one to get a steal on PG that eventually led to Dame's shot to send OKC packing last year. Seth went off for 22 points 4-4 from three. PG built a house scoring 11 on 3-16 shooting. It's not just Seth who is outperforming George offensively, Tim Hardaway Jr. has been sneakily outshooting him too.  In this series: PG 17.3 PPG, 24% from three. THJ 19 PPG, 39% from three. I haven't been particularly impressed with Hardaway Jr. so far, but he's playing better than George. Thanks, Playoff P!

KP

Porzingis was asked to shoulder the load once Doncic left, and he did not disappoint. KP scored 34 points on 18 shots and grabbed 13 rebounds. Keep in mind, this is his third playoff game ever. Porzingis is going to have a lot more on his plate going forward, especially if Luka has to miss games. Although KP is looking more like his second team bubble self, he needs to box out. It’s always so frustrating when he doesn’t box out against these desperate guys that he towers over.

Overall, it was a promising game for the Mavs despite Luka going down. This team didn’t fold ever, they fought the whole way. Hopefully Luka is correct in saying that his injury isn’t so bad. This Mav team lost their best player, are inexperienced and took this Championship favorite wire to wire. They only lost by 8, Clippers should be scared. Hell, Luka and KP have barely played a fourth quarter together all series. KP ejected, Luka foul trouble, Luka injury. We are dangerous, ofcourse  they’re going to try and make it dirty! The LA Clippers cannot beat the Mavericks without that stuff.