Without Leonard, facing the Mavericks who were in full swing at the end of the playoffs, I really didn't expect the Clippers to win so easily, let alone Harden would be the man who dominated the game! In the first quarter of the game, Harden showed all-round scoring and assist ability, coupled with Zubac's efficiency, the Clippers quickly established a double-digit lead. Entering the second quarter, the Mavericks suffered frequent setbacks on the offensive end and made a series of mistakes, while Harden further expanded the difference to more than 20 points with accurate 3 points. Wei Shao's empty dunk pushed the atmosphere to a climax, and at halftime, the Clippers led the Mavericks by 26 points at 56-30.
In the second half, Irving stepped up and scored consecutive points, scoring 20 points in a single quarter, leading the Mavericks to fight back. But the Clippers played steadily and always kept up with the Mavericks' offense. In the final quarter of the game, the Mavericks once narrowed the gap to 15 points, but George stepped up in time, scored consecutive points and assisted Mann to hit a three-pointer to stabilize the Clippers. Zubac was whistled for a first-degree foul after making physical contact with Kleber on a defensive run, and the Mavericks took the opportunity to make consecutive kills and close the gap with free throws. However, Harden stepped up again and hit a crucial three-pointer to completely extinguish the Mavericks' hopes of a comeback. In the end, the Clippers defeated the Mavericks 109-97 to give the series a 1-0 lead.
In addition to Harden scoring 28 points, like Zubac (20+15 dominating the interior), Wei Shao (14 points and 4 assists, passionate), and Mann (4 of 8, 13 points), they are all efficient and energetic. However, George's performance in this game was not satisfactory, after the absence of Xiaoka, he was the real core of the team in name, but he shot 8 of 20 in this game, and got 22 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. If it weren't for Harden leading the team to the first two quarters of the game, it would have been difficult for the team to win with George's efficiency.
After the game, Tyronn Lue talked about Harden's aggressiveness on the offensive end, he said: After the injury of Xiaoka, I looked for Harden, hoping that he could help us on offense and get back to his true self, and today his performance was perfect! Zubac, who was fed cake by Harden and vomited, praised Harden with "the greatest scorer in the world today". However, George's remarks in the post-game interview raised some questions. He praised Irving, Zubac, and even Tyronn Lue!
George said that Irving and Doncic are both Hall of Fame-caliber scorers, and we have to do more! We don't think we can't win without Leonard, Tyronn Lue is coaching, and we have a great locker room atmosphere! George also praised Zubac, who played well, "I'm proud of him, he played dominantly on the inside tonight, and when we give him the ball, he can score straight away!" However, George didn't mention Harden, the hero of today's game! However, George was not very happy with his performance, and he bluntly said: "My shooting today is not very good, there is always room for improvement.
As we all know, George and Harden's contracts will expire this summer, George has the last year of player options, Harden's contract expires directly to become a completely free player, although they have a competitive relationship, but after Harden joined the Clippers, he did not dominate, only did a good job of organizing the tandem, and the average number of shots per game was the lowest in his career, if it wasn't for Leonard's injury in the playoffs, Tyronn Lue came forward to ask for it, Harden may still not be a big bag on the offensive end, on the other hand, George, his ball usage rate and number of shots are the same as Leonard。 After Leonard signed a three-year contract extension worth $149.7 million with the Clippers, setting a benchmark for George and Harden, George didn't buy it, and some Philadelphia media said that George was asking for a contract extension with a longer annual salary and a bigger contract, and the 76ers had the ability to recruit George!