Home Sweet Home: Clippers Beat Mavs 126-111 To Win Series
Jun 6, 2021, 4:34 PM
(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points, Marcus Morris added 23 and the Los Angeles Clippers finally won at home, finishing off the Dallas Mavericks 126-111 on Sunday in Game 7 of the first-round playoff series.
Playing in front of a small but noisy mix of masked fans and cardboard cutouts, the Clippers did what neither team had been able to pull off in the first six games — win at home. It was the first time in NBA history the road team won the first six games of a playoff series.
The fourth-seeded Clippers advanced to the Western Conference semifinals for the second straight year. They’ll play the top-seeded Utah Jazz starting Tuesday night in Salt Lake City.
Luka Doncic had 46 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds to lead the fifth-seeded Mavs, who have yet to win a playoff series since capturing the NBA championship in 2011. He finished the series with 250 points, 55 rebounds and 72 assists.
Great series, @dallasmavs. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/HQ50ckMI6M
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) June 6, 2021
Paul George added 22 points, 10 assists and six rebounds for the Clippers. Their backups outscored Dallas’ reserves, 27-6, getting crucial contributions from Terance Mann (13 points) and Luke Kennard (11 points).
Trailing by eight at halftime, the Mavs outscored the Clippers 19-6 to open the third and take an 81-76 lead. Doncic had just two points in the run, with Dorian Finney-Smith hitting two 3-pointers and Tim Hardaway Jr. adding another. Finney-Smith finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
The Clippers responded with a 24-4 spurt — including 12 in a row — to lead 100-85 going into the fourth. Morris made three 3-pointers and Kennard hit a pair.
Leonard scored seven points, highlighted by a dunk off George’s pass. Defensively, Leonard came up with a big block and Mann helped contain Doncic, who had the Mavs’ only points over the end of the third.
Dallas cut its 19-point deficit early in the fourth to seven points on Doncic’s fifth 3-pointer of the game with just under 3 minutes remaining. But the Clippers’ own long-range prowess carried them, with Reggie Jackson and Morris connecting on back-to-back 3s for a 120-107 lead.
On to the next one. pic.twitter.com/fTXXGTzIZc
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) June 6, 2021
Doncic matched his points total from Game 6 with 29 points in the first half on 10 of 14 shooting.
The Clippers produced a 19-13 run, with four players other than Leonard scoring, to go into halftime leading 70-62.
Tip-Ins
Mavericks: Hardaway received a Flagrant-1 foul for knocking George to the floor on a drive with 37 seconds left. … Rick Carlisle dropped to 2-2 in Game 7s of his coaching career.
Clippers: Tyronn Lue improved to 4-0 in Game 7s of his coaching career. … They had one rebound in the first quarter. … Markieff Morris of the Lakers chatted up his twin brother Marcus at halftime. … Six-time NBA champion Scottie Pippen and Chiney Ogwumike of the Sparks attended.
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