At 9:40 on May 4, NBA playoffs, Western G6, Mavericks home against Clippers. Harden needs to play a more convincing performance to lead the team on a comeback. In the previous five games, the Clippers were unstable and fell behind 2-3. The Eastern European duo is in good form and is getting better.
In the first half, Doncic led the team to a leading start, did not give the Clippers too many chances, and opened the first quarter with a score of 34-26. In the second quarter, after the Mavericks re-established a 10-point advantage, George defended and was capped for three points! Doncic scored a layup from the outside, Harden made 1 of 2 free throws, Green scored on a dunk, and Harden assisted Powell to hit 2 points. Doncic missed a three-pointer, and Mann hit a solid three-pointer. Powell threw and scored, Irving missed a three-pointer! Harden continued to lead the team to chase points, and with a steal, he flew to the basket to lead by 2 points! Irving assisted his teammate to dunk and score. 52-52 at halftime!
In the third quarter, Doncic got the rebound, and then assisted Jones to score easily on a layup. Doncic then faced Harden and hit a three-point shot! Zubac blocked the opponent's three-point shot, and then Mann made a mistake and dropped the ball! Washington got the rebound and assisted Irving to hit a three-point shot, 8-0! George scored alone, Tucker missed a three-point shot in the bottom corner, Gafford completed 2+1, and Harden scored in the middle of the shot. Doncic missed a three-pointer. At one point, the margin was 11 points! After that, the Clippers collapsed a bit, and after Irving hit a three-point shot, the surge came to 20-6, and the margin came to 14 points!
Irving exploded, scoring 13 points in the third quarter, helping the team widen the gap and establish a 15-point advantage, and the suspense of the game seemed to be not too big? In the final quarter, the Mavericks played steadily and steadily to increase the advantage to as many as 20 points! Harden still did not give up, led the team to chase points, and sent a wave of climaxes to 13 points, but there was too little time. The Clippers were unable to turn the tables around, and in the end the Clippers were out 2-4. Harden regretted that in the first round of the playoffs, Irving exploded.
The final score was 101-114, and Harden was 5-of-16 from the field. The top 4 in the West are finalized, with the Thunder against the Mavericks and the Nuggets against the Timberwolves. No Harden, no George, no James, no Davis, no Durant and no Booker.