5 takeaways as Kawhi-less Clippers roll past Mavs in Game 1 – NBC Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Clippers are on the board first.

Los Angeles on Sunday rolled previous the Dallas Mavericks 109-97 of their Recreation 1 matchup, doing so with out star Kawhi Leonard, who missed out because of damage.

The Clippers used a dominant 34-22 first-quarter benefit to set the tone, then outscored Dallas within the second 22-8 to maintain the gasoline on the pedal.

Los Angeles’ largest lead was 29 factors whereas Dallas by no means led. Dallas tried to make issues attention-grabbing with a late fourth-quarter run, however it was solely to make the scoreboard extra flattering.

Listed here are 5 takeaways from the Clippers-Mavericks Recreation 1 showdown:

James Harden leads a balanced Clipper assault

With no Leonard, the onus shifted towards the opposite assortment of L.A. stars to get the job completed at dwelling. Harden was the catalyst of what turned out to be a dominant and balanced Clipper assault.

Harden led the best way with 28 factors on 8 of 17 taking pictures general, 6 of 11 from deep and 6 of 6 from the foul line to go along with eight assists, two rebounds and two blocks.

Paul George added 22 factors, Ivica Zubac dominated down low with 20 and each Terance Mann and Russell Westbrook chipped in with 13, the latter doing so off the bench.

Mavericks’ star duo will get no assist

However, the star Dallas duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving did not get the assistance they wanted to contest Los Angeles.

Doncic led the crew with 33 factors however wasn’t too environment friendly, scoring 11 of 26 makes an attempt general, 4 of 12 from deep and seven of 8 from the foul line. He added 13 rebounds, six assists and a steal. Irving recorded 31 factors on 10 of 18 taking pictures general, 3 of 6 from deep and eight of 9 from the foul line to go along with seven rebounds, 4 assists and two steals.

The one different Maverick to eclipse double-digit level totals was P.J. Washington, who scored 11 on 4 of 10 taking pictures general. Tim Hardaway Jr. mustered simply six factors in 16 minutes off the bench whereas Maxi Kleber had three in 27 minutes as a reserve.

Clippers gentle up the 3-point line

A lot of the rationale for Los Angeles’ success within the opener boiled right down to 3-point conversions. The Clippers went 18 of 36 (50%) as a crew whereas the Mavs made solely 10 of 33 (30.3%).

Harden and George mixed for 10 triples as a duo, whereas gamers like Mann (3 of three) and Westbrook (2 of 4) loved scorching outings themselves.

It won’t be sustainable, however each margin counts in a playoff state of affairs. The Clippers nearly managed all of them regardless of not having arguably their finest participant.

Ivica Zubac has breakout Recreation 1

Zubac hasn’t all the time fared properly towards the Mavericks in playoff matchups, however his Recreation 1 efficiency illustrated his significance to this Clippers crew.

The Clippers actually solely have two rotational large males in Zubac and Mason Plumlee off the bench, and the 27-year-old Zubac, who averaged 11.7 factors and 9.2 rebounds in 68 regular-season video games, relished in a mini-breakout efficiency.

Zubac recorded 20 factors on 10 of 17 taking pictures, 15 rebounds, one help, one steal and a block in 33 minutes, simply outplaying Dallas’ beginning heart Daniel Gafford, who solely had three factors in 14 minutes. If Zubac can keep related ranges even with Leonard again within the combine, this sequence may take an intriguing twist.

Mavericks’ mentality will likely be examined in Recreation 2

It will not be a do-or-die state of affairs if the Mavericks lose Recreation 2 on Tuesday. However they will at the very least have to indicate extra resilience earlier than the sequence heads to Dallas for Video games 3 and 4.

For the reason that Doncic period, the Mavericks have made the playoffs 3 times not counting this season. Two of these resulted in first-round losses to the Clippers whereas the opposite was a run to the Western Convention Finals that didn’t embody any matchups towards the L.A. facet.

Doncic and Co. must show the Clippers aren’t their playoff kryptonite in what’ll be a decisive postseason.