Surpassing Jordan, Magic, Harden milestone, exceeding 32+9 to defeat the Big Four, Leonard is too sluggish
The Clippers continue to host the Mavericks at home, and in the last game, with Harden playing at full strength, the Clippers had already put the game out of suspense at halftime. And this game they once again ushered in good news, Leonard, who was absent from G1, ushered in a comeback, and his playing time will not be limited.
The two teams started as follows:
Clippers – Harden, Mann, George, Jr., Zubac
Mavericks – Irving, Doncic, Jones, Washington, Gafford
Section 1: Hot Pot Feast, Harden Super Jordan
Jones' dunk helped the Mavericks score the first point, but immediately George responded with a violent dunk. At the beginning of the game, the two sides were full of rhythm, and the Mavericks deliberately caused damage on the inside, allowing Zubac to commit two fouls in less than three minutes.
Both teams then played a full rhythm on the defensive end, and neither team could easily score points. George and Harden made wonderful blocks one after another, and Doncic also made big caps under Plumlee. Gafford was even injured on the defensive end and went straight back to the locker room for a check-up.
5 minutes and 28 seconds, enter the official timeout! (Mavericks 9-8 Clippers)
Harden's two free throws helped the Clippers overtake the score. However, Doncic then began to exert force, he hit two three-pointers in a row, and the Mavericks successfully hit a wave of 9-3, and the score came to 18-11.
Finally, the first quarter of the game ended, and the Mavericks were 23-19, leading the Clippers by 4 points. In the first quarter, the two teams played the NBA's long-lost suffocation defense, and the two teams teamed up to stage a hot pot feast, among which the Mavericks sent 5 blocks.
It is worth mentioning that Harden ushered in another milestone in his career in this section. He managed to surpass Jordan in total assists and rank 12th all-time!
Second Quarter: Fronts are evenly matched
Gafford was back in action after a check-up.
The Clippers' Big Three, which felt cold in the first quarter, began to show signs of recovery on the offensive end in the second quarter. But Doncic, who is in great shape, puts a lot of pressure on the defense.
7:54 Clippers timeout!
Coming back from the game, Harden drew a three-point foul on Washington, but he only hit one of three free throws. Zubac also ended the "O'Neill experience card", where he barely contributed much and also dunked an unguarded must-score.
Harden made a steal and then countered to complete a dunk. The Clippers played a decent pace in the second half of the quarter and didn't let the margin widen further. At halftime, the Mavericks still led by four points.
Throughout the first half, Doncic played an important role on both ends of the floor, trying to interfere with George and Harden's outside shots.
Section 3:
Yibian fought again, Leonard came up to complete the steal, and directly counterattacked and scored a violent dunk. But Irving then took over the game, hitting a three-pointer and then a steal to help the Mavericks extend their advantage to seven points.
At 7 minutes and 52 seconds, the Clippers chose to take a timeout!
Coming back from the game, Capepper teamed up to score five points and successfully helped the Clippers stabilize the situation, and the score came to 53-55. Then the two sides fell into a stalemate again, and the score was always tight.
At the end of the quarter, Doncic began to fight with the referee again and was directly whistled for a technical foul. At the end of the third quarter, the Clippers were 66-65, one point ahead of the Mavericks.
Harden also set another milestone in this game, which was that he surpassed Magic Johnson in the number of playoff free throws to move to 10th all-time.
Section 4:
In the final quarter, Powell came up and hit a three-point shot. The current lineup of the Clippers has exploded with very amazing energy. In particular, Wei Shao's defensive enthusiasm successfully allowed the team to play a wave of 7-2.
9 minutes and 32 seconds, the Lone Ranger chooses to pause!
After the timeout, the Mavericks began to make difficulties on the outside, and Washington and Doncic hit one after another, successfully helping the Mavericks return a wave of 9-0, and the score came to 76-73.
The Clippers hurriedly called a timeout!
At the critical moment, Doncic's three-point shot was accurate and ruthless, and as he faced Harden with another three-point shot, the score came to 90-81. At this time, there was 1 minute and 26 seconds left before the end of the game.
Harden's big open three-pointer helped the Clippers see a glimmer of hope of catching up. The two sides went to a penalty shootout, with Washington and George both hitting both penalties. Jones went to the free throw line and he made one of two free throws to put the score at 93-88.
The Clippers used up the last timeout!
The card scored two points and caused Irving to foul, but the Mavericks then successfully challenged and the foul was cancelled.
Irving was then fouled and made one of two free throws, but Kleber grabbed the rebound. The suspense of the game was lost, and in the end, the Mavericks defeated the Clippers 96-93 on the road, and the score came to 1-1.