DALLAS โ Paul George and James Harden are two-for-two without Kawhi Leonard in the Los Angeles Clippersโ NBA first-round playoff series against Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks.
The healthy LA stars can afford to shrug over the blown 31-point lead in Game 4.
George and Harden each scored 33 points while playing key fourth-quarter roles to help the Clippers hold off a huge rally fueled mostly by Irving for a 116-111 victory Sunday to even the first-round series at 2-2.
โWe knew they would make a run,โ Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. โBut also, we didnโt think weโd come into this building and be up 31 points either. So I told our team, just get the win, however youโve got to get it. In the playoffs, it donโt matter how you win.โ
PG’s 7th triple was his BIGGEST of the game ๐ฅ
The angle. The stepback. The lead.
Clippers tie the series 2-2 ๐ฟ https://t.co/YK9ZebZqeb pic.twitter.com/nOuJpQqXo4
โ NBA (@NBA) April 29, 2024
Leonard was out with right knee inflammation again after missing the series opener, then playing in both Dallas victories. The Clippers arenโt sure heโll make it back for the third Western Conference first-round meeting between these teams in the past five seasons.
The teams have split a pair on each otherโs home court. Game 5 is Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
Irving scored 40 points for Dallas, including an acrobatic layup with 2:15 remaining for a 105-104 lead that was the first for the Mavericks since the middle of the first quarter.
Doncic had 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his fourth career playoff triple-double โ all against the Clippers โ while clearly struggling with right knee soreness that had him questionable until he warmed up before the game.
READ: NBA: Luka Doncic, Mavericks take chippy win over Clippers for lead
โItโs hurting, obviously,โ said Doncic, who was 1 of 9 from 3-point range and not as effective on defense, a strength for him in this series. โBut it shouldnโt be an excuse. Just came out sloppy. Weโve got to be way better than that.โ
George scored 26 points in the first half, when the Clippersโ lead reached 55-24 on a 3-pointer by Harden. The high-scoring stars combined to go 11 of 15 from long range as LA finished 18 of 29 overall.
After Irvingโs go-ahead layup, George hit his first basket of the second half, a fadeaway 3 from the corner. Irving missed a layup, and Harden converted a three-point play for a 110-105 lead. The 10-time All-Star scored 15 points in the fourth, hitting five of his well-known floaters that were mostly absent in the first three games.
This is part of why the Clippers added Harden in an early-season trade, giving them another option with a star such as Leonard sidelined.
โIโm blessed to be able to change it up and be a facilitator or a scorer,โ Harden said. โMy mindset coming to this team was doing whatever it takes to win and get to the end goal. Whether thatโs scoring or facilitating, I think it goes possession by possession and game by game.โ
The Clippers tied a franchise playoff record for a quarter with eight 3s in the first, and George had three of them while scoring his playoff first-quarter high with 16 points to match the Mavericks and help build a 39-16 lead.
Hardenโs 3 for the 31-point lead midway through the second quarter came not long after Doncic was called for a technical foul coming down the court when his miss dropped Dallas to 0-11 from long range..
It was almost a replay of Game 1, when the Leonard-less Clippers led by 26 at halftime and 29 early in the third quarter. Minus the massive rally, although Dallas did whittle the deficit in the second half of the opener.
โThis is like Game 1,โ Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. โEarly game, for whatever reason we just havenโt played well. Weโve gotten off to slow starts. Thatโs just something that weโve got to talk about as a team. If thereโs another afternoon game, weโve got to make sure weโre ready to go from the jump and we canโt wait.โ
Irving hit the next two 3s for Dallas, and the rally was on. He scored 16 in the second quarter and kept it going in the third, finishing those two quarters with 26 after a scoreless first. Dallas trailed by four entering the fourth quarter.
โWe dug ourselves in a hole,โ Irving said. โThereโs no time to complain about it or look to each other for any excuses. It was just time to get it going. Fell short, but this is a consistent thing in this series so far where Kawhi doesnโt play and weโre just dealing with a barrage of James Harden and Paul George getting off.โ