On May 4, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs continued, and the Mavericks hosted the Clippers. At present, in the first round of the NBA playoffs, the Timberwolves and Pelicans in the West swept their opponents early to advance, and the Nuggets easily won the Lakers 4-1; The Clippers have been pushed to the edge of the cliff, in the first five games, Harden averaged 22 points and 7 assists per game, George 20 points and 5 assists, and the lack of small cards is really a bit difficult! And the small card determined early that G6 will continue not to play, but before the game, the Clippers determined two future directions: the Clippers plan to renew a contract with Tyronn Lue, and they recognize Tyronn Lue's coaching approach to the team;
Statistics show that Harden has played 14 G6 games in his career, with a record of 3 wins and 11 losses; Harden has a record of 1 win and 9 losses in the past 10 life and death games; and as the most stable core of the Mavericks' series in this round, Irving has a record of 12 wins and 0 losses when he holds the match point! All kinds of data are not good for the Clippers, but Harden said bluntly: We have no pressure, and the Mavericks have the pressure to win. However, the Mavericks prepared a "gift" for the Clippers before the home game, and all the fans who entered the stadium had a poster of Washington hugging his arms, which was completely full of momentum and pressured the Clippers. According to the calculation of the American media ESPN, the Mavericks have a 73% probability of winning this game, and the Clippers are 27%. Before the game, Tyronn Lue suddenly changed the lineup, took Coffey and replaced Tucker, this game depends on Harden!
Clippers starters: Harden + Mann + Paul George + Tucker + Zubac; Mavericks starters: Doncic + Irving + Derrick Jones + Washington + Gafford At the beginning of the game, Doncic trained Zubac, after Harden made a kill, Gafford continued to eat cakes and make baskets, and at the critical moment, it was Tucker's three-point shot to stop the bleeding! George rained three-pointers in the second half, but at the end of the quarter, Doncic made consecutive kills, plus Kleber's three-pointers, and the Mavericks led the Clippers 34-26 in the first quarter. At the beginning of the second quarter, the Mavericks scored free throws, Washington's outside bullets were not missing, Harden and Powell made consecutive jump shots, and Harden made a mistake and was stopped by the Mavericks to counterattack!
In the middle of the period, Doncic and Green continued to widen the difference, fortunately, Mann and Powell burst inside and outside, and the Clippers mainly relied on Powell in the second half of the offense. The two teams were tied at 52 at halftime, George had 14 points and six rebounds, Harden had nine points and seven assists, Doncic had 18 points and seven assists, and Irving had two points and five rebounds. Back in the third quarter, Doncic continued to feed Jones, and Irving converted three-pointers, and the Mavericks stopped the Clippers again. After George's jumper stopped the bleeding, Gafford dunked Zubac, Harden hit a difficult throw, Gafford and Doncic continued to attack fiercely, plus Irving's three-pointer, the difference had reached 14 points!
At the end of the quarter, Irving countered the toss + open three-pointer, Green broke through the high board and also hit, and after the third quarter, the Mavericks led the Clippers 87-72, and Irving scored 13 points alone in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter of the decisive battle, Irving hit another three-pointer, Harden fed Zubac a cup of water, and the Mavericks relied on more points to open a 20-point difference. In the middle of the game, Jones dunked + Irving threw at the top, and then Irving hit Tucker and drifted 3+1, with a maximum of 24 points. The Clippers didn't give up, Powell and Tucker hit three-pointers in a row, Harden continued to throw and make kills, the Clippers chased all the way to only 13 points, the Mavericks scored free throws, Powell's three-pointers maintained a trace of suspense, and in the last 1 minute, the Clippers surrendered! In the end, the Mavericks defeated the Clippers 114-101 and advanced to the division semifinals 4-2.
Clippers statistics, Harden was 5 of 16 with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 13 assists, George was 6 of 18 with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists, Zubac had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Mann had 14 points and 6 rebounds, Tucker had 8 points and 2 rebounds, Wei Shao had 6 points, and Powell had 20 points and 4 rebounds. Mavericks statistics, Doncic 28 points, 7 rebounds and 13 assists, Irving scored 28 points in the second half, 30 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, Gafford 13 points and 6 rebounds, Washington 14 points and 5 rebounds, and Lively 10 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists.
Unfortunately, the Clippers stopped in the first round this season. In the face of the Eastern European pair's seamless offensive performance, Harden and George were not a match. But can you really blame Harden and George? Isn't it the problem of the team boss who falls every playoff? Harden broke out four games in a row, and at his age he has done his best, including Powell on the bench, and Zubac, and the Clippers are missing a Leonard. Harden can lead the team to ensure the team's lower limit, but he can't raise the ceiling, George is not the kind of supergiant who raises the gear, I don't know where Harden and George will go this summer, the Clippers give people expectations every year, but they disappoint people every year. Congratulations to the Lone Ranger, Owen is so fierce! Keep up the good work.