Dallas wins without shaking against the Clippers

Trailing closely at the start of the game, the Dallas Mavericks ended up blowing away the Los Angeles Clippers in great difficulty, to win in full control (101-90) during Game 3 of their series, Friday night on SATURDAY. This second consecutive success allows them to take the lead (2-1) in this first round of playoffs before another home match, scheduled for Sunday.

If they had started well (18-23 at the end of the first quarter), the Clippers actually ended this meeting frustrated, several of their senior players missing the game entirely. Paul George finished with 7 points after 30 minutes on the floor, 3 of 11 shooting. Russell Westbrook (1 point, 0/7 shooting in 19 minutes of play) was ejected during the 4th quarter for two technical fouls during the same action, after hooking Luka Doncic’s arm then after being in a fight with PJ Washington who reacted to the first mistake committed on the Slovenian.

Finally, for his second game back after being out for several weeks with right knee inflammation, Kawhi Leonard was limited to 9 points in 25 minutes (4/7 shooting). Opposite the stars in ” Mavs » Luka Doncic, very close to the triple-double (22 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists) despite his clumsy shooting (7/25 including 3/14 from behind the arc) and Kyrie Irving (21 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists) have been more influential.

A second quarter flown by the Mavs

The difference was made quite early in the game, during the second quarter. Because if the Clippers had dominated the first 12 minutes, Luka Doncic and the team reacted immediately. The Slovenian notably scored 12 points in the second quarter alone, while the Angelins began to sink little by little. Dallas was especially able to hurt the Clippers inside (32 points scored in the paint in the first half alone). At halftime, the Mavs had already taken a clear advantage (54-41) thanks to this brilliant second quarter (36-18).

And if the second half was fairly split (49-47 for the Clippers), the visitors never seemed to be able to get back to the score, falling within 10 points only once, at 68-62 in the third quarter, after 8. -0. Not enough to put doubt in the minds of the Mavericks, who responded with an 11-0 borderline at the end of the 3rd and the start of the 4th quarter. And led by more than 20 points a few moments later (+21, 91-70), which allowed them to negotiate the end of the game more calmly.