Leonard Lights It Up: Clippers vs. Mavericks Game Three (August 21, 2020)
The Los Angeles Clippers took on the Dallas Mavericks in game three, with each taking a game a piece. The stage was set for a very competitive game three.
It was an absolute battle early on, with Kawhi Leonard (36 pts, 9 reb, 8 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk) showing off his innate ability to score the ball. It wasn’t all about the basketball in this one, though. It was all about chippiness.
I ended up turning the game on a few minutes late due to the end of the Boston vs. Philadelphia game, but as soon as I did I could tell what the mood was. Luka Doncic (13 pts, 10 reb, 10 ast) and Montrezl Harrell (13 pts) got into it over an aggressive shove from Doncic. A couple possessions later, Kristaps Porzingis (34 pts, 13 reb) got into Marcus Morris’ face after he took offense to Morris’ scrappy playstyle.
Neither are guys I would want to mess with if I were the Mavs. Both teams seemed very determined to win, and it wouldn’t have taken a genius to see that. The first quarter ended in a tie game.
The Clippers were playing really solid defense to start the game, and the only way Dallas was getting buckets was by making some tough shots. As for LA, the scoring was coming from a lot of different players. Leonard was the leader, but he was getting help from Marcus Morris (14 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast) and the bench, too.
Doncic was the highlight of Dallas’ offense, but Seth Curry (22 pts, 3 ast) was having himself a good game into the second. He was running the fast break well and scoring the basketball in multiple ways. If Curry can start making buckets aside from his normal three pointers the Mavs will be more than happy with that.
LA was on a 7-0 run and things were looking solid for them. Then Trey Burke (10 pts, 3 ast) checked into the game and stopped it immediately. Two quick buckets from him and the Mavs were right back in the game.
Leonard was making plays for the Clippers, though. He was by far their best player of the first half, as well as their leading scorer and rebounder. His defense, as usual, propelled the team into the lead. Despite his robotic demeanor, you could tell that he wanted the win more than anyone else on the floor.
Paul George (11 pts, 9 reb, 7 ast, 3-16 from the field, 1-8 from three) on the other hand, who struggled in game two, continued his rough stretch of play into the first half of this game. He started off 2-10 and was missing what should have been easy buckets. Not the way LA needs him to be playing whilst they attempt to contend for a title.
As I stated, Leonard had the Clippers rolling in the second. He led them to a nice 68-54 lead going into halftime as the Mavs went through a cold stretch shooting the ball.
Right as the second half started the mavs showed off why they were the best offensive team (in terms of offensive rating) in NBA history this year. Their ball movement on offense was gorgeous, and the way Doncic was running it was, too. A solid start as they tried to climb back into the game.
As soon as they got into a rhythm, though, a Doc Rivers timeout snapped it. LA went on their own run after the timeout and gained back their entire halftime lead. The Clippers were determined to remain in front.
Late in the third, as the Clippers were steadily maintaining their 10+ point lead, Doncic went down with an ankle injury. It was the same ankle he injured in game one, but this time looked much more serious. Unable to put any weight on it, the hearts of Mavs fans everywhere sunk as he hopped back to the locker room.
That being said, he was back on the bench and available to return by the end of the quarter, Doncic is a different level of competitor. Much respect. The Mavs, however, were not doing as hot. The Clippers held a 17 point lead going into the fourth.
Both three point specialists were on fire in this one - Curry for the Mavs and Landry Shamet (18 pts, 3 reb) for the Clippers. Curry stepped up his game throughout, and was definitely called on more after the injury to Doncic. As for Shamet, he was one of the main guys LA looked to to score behind Leonard.
Doncic ended up leaving the game soon after he returned. The pain was just too much for him to deal with, leaving Mavs fans once again terrified of his status for game four.
That unfortunate news aside, the rest of the Mavs were not going to give up without a fight. It almost seemed to motivate them. Dallas looked to be moving with more energy and running up and down the floor with some extra oomph. Coach Rivers was not happy.
While the Mavs tried their best to shoot their way back into the game, the constant assault of the Clipper offense was just too much. Huge games from Curry, Porzingis, and Tim Hardaway Jr. (22 pts, 6 reb) were not enough to keep up with Leonard and company.The Clippers managed to get by the Mavs in game three, despite another poor performance from George.
The depth of LA came up huge, as they helped Leonard defeat the Mavericks 130-122. Tune in to game four of this series on Sunday, August 23rd at 3:30 PM EST.
