Game 4 of the first-round series between the Clippers and Mavericks continued at home in Dallas, with the Mavericks leading the Clippers 2-1 in the first three. The two games of the Clippers' comeback were quite bad, leaving the Clippers in passivity. Today, Ka suffered another knee inflammation and was forced to take a truce, and the Clippers played a furious offensive and defensive performance led by Harden and George. At one point in the second quarter, they took a 31-point lead, but the Mavericks were also quite tenacious under the leadership of Irving and Doncic, and the two sides fought until the final quarter. After four quarters of fierce competition, the Clippers defeated the Mavericks 116-111 and tied the score at 2-2.
The Clippers were able to win this game, George who was furious in the first half and Harden who was unresolved in the second half were the absolute heroes of the victory, and of course, there was also a small card that took the initiative to suspend the game. This battle also reflects six indisputable facts.
First, the Clippers can win because of the wild performance of the two cores. Especially George can still be that exciting General Joe.
The first thing to say is that George scored 26 points alone in the first half, shooting 9-of-14 from the field, 6-of-9 from three-point range, and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line, with 26 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. In the first quarter, he teamed up with Harden to play a 17:2 offensive climax, and the Mavericks fell into a stream, leading by 23 points in the first quarter, and once stretched the difference to 31 points in the second quarter. In the whole game, George played 43 minutes, shooting 11-of-19, 7-of-10 three-pointers, 4-of-7 free throws, and scored 33 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals and 1 block. Paul George, give him enough of the ball, and still be that exciting General Joe. this game. Paul George scored 26 points in the first half and became the absolute hero of the win, setting a good tone for the Clippers.
Second, Harden played an enviable playoff performance and was the undisputed boss of the Clippers, beating Doncic in this game.
Harden made a good sense of organization and individual offense in this game, first leading the team with one after another step-back three-pointers in the first half, and then scored 15 points in the final quarter to stabilize the situation.
Harden played 40 minutes, shooting 12-of-17 from the field, 4-of-5 from three-point range, and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line, and once again scored 33 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, with only 2 turnovers. At the critical moment when the Mavericks were chasing points in the final quarter, Harden scored six consecutive points to stabilize the situation. In this battle, Harden became the absolute hero of the Clippers' victory, especially in the fourth quarter, scoring 15 points alone, using his various offensive methods one by one, stepping back for three points, and throwing after the breakthrough, these two big killer moves made the Mavericks incomprehensible. Harden is still the star who can be trusted, giving opponents the fatal blow when it matters most.
Three, Doncic, the ball-handling core, can be restricted. Although he cut three doubles today, his efficiency was very low.
Doncic played 45 minutes in this game, shooting 10-of-24, 1-of-9 three-pointers, and 8-of-10 free throws, although he got a triple-double of 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, but he was inefficient, with 3 turnovers and 5 fouls. This is the fourth triple-double of Doncic's playoff career, and coincidentally, the opponents are all Clippers, leading the team to a 2-2 record.
Fourth, Irving is still the same Ou Shenxian, his various offensive methods are not inferior to Harden, and he played quite efficiently today, but he became an empty cut.
Irving played 44 minutes in the game, shooting 14-of-25 from the field, 6-of-12 from three-point range and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line, scoring a game-high 40 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, while also committing 7 turnovers.
Fifth, the Clippers have more rotation players who can play, and the depth of the roster is far better than that of the Mavericks. But Wei Shao is no longer a giant.
In addition to George and Harden, Mann made 3 of 9 shots, contributing 11 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, and Zubac had 13 points and 4 rebounds. Powell scored 11 points, and on the other side of the Mavericks, except for Irving and Doncic, only Washington scored 10 points, Jones scored 14 points, and no one else scored in double figures. But Wei Shao's performance was not good, shooting 2 of 8 today, 1 of 2 three-pointers, 0 of 2 free throws, and only contributed 5 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 2 turnovers, Wei Shao is no longer a giant.
Sixth, it's not terrible to win, it's embarrassing to be missing.
The absence of the small card allowed the Clippers to get a valuable victory, indicating that the small card's body is not enough to support the playoff-level intensity, and without the small card today, the Clippers played an iron-blooded offense and defense, completely dominating the Mavericks on the court. It seems that the Clippers are still capable of fighting their opponents without small cards and have a chance to win.