On April 29, Beijing time, the Clippers defeated the Mavericks 116-111 away to tie the overall score at 2-2, and the two sides will usher in the battle of Tianwang Mountain on May 2. Irving finished with 40 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Doncic had 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, but shot just 10-of-24 from the field and 1-of-9 from three-point range. Doncic blamed himself for disappointing Irving in his post-game interview, and didn't want to use the knee injury as an excuse, hoping that he and his teammates could go all out in the battle of Tianwang Mountain.
Without Irving's outburst, it would have been a fiasco, with the Mavericks trailing by as many as 31 points, and it was Irving who helped the team erase the gap in the final quarter and even overtake the score. On Irving's performance, Doncic said, "I just need to help him a little more. I feel like I've let him down, so I have to play better and help him more. He gave everything, and throughout the series, he surprised us. ”
Doncic, who is playing with a knee injury, said of his knee: "It's going to hurt, but that shouldn't be an excuse...... We have to do better. ”
In this game, in addition to Irving, the Mavericks Derrick Jones Jr. also played well, especially in the second half of the chasing stage, hitting many key shots. In this game, he had 14 points and 7 rebounds, shooting 6-of-9. Speaking about Jones' performance, Doncic said: "Overall, he's been great, not just today. He was great and never complained. He's a good guy and a good teammate. He's the kind of guy you always want to be in the team. I'm glad he's in the team, we just need to play with the energy he deserves. ”
A reporter asked Doncic what they needed to do in Game 5 to make their start less slow.
"Play with a lot of energy. We played two day games and both were tough. We just need to have the same mentality as we did in the second and third games. It's about coming on the pitch and trying to play 48 minutes. ”
On May 2, Beijing time, the two sides will usher in the battle of Tianwang Mountain, and the Clippers will sit at home to meet the challenge of the Mavericks.