Three Takeaways from the LA Clippers' Game 1 Loss to the Dallas Mavericks

The LA Clippers fell short in their opening game of the postseason. Here's what we learned from their loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

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The LA Clippers opened their 2021 postseason with a loss on Saturday afternoon, dropping Game 1 of their first-round series with the Dallas Mavericks by a final score of 113-103. 

LA kept things close throughout the game and never trailed by more than 12 points, but Dallas's energy was clearly overwhelming, and the Clippers were never quite able to recover from a slow start.

"I thought shot quality was pretty good in the first half," Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said after the game. "The good thing about it, we only have five turnovers, that allowed us to stay in the game... But just defensively, just got to clean some things up and make sure we're on the same page."

Although the Clippers were in it until the final buzzer, they were outplayed on both ends of the floor. The Mavericks shot a higher percentage from the floor, dominated the Clippers from beyond the arc, gathered more rebounds and were more efficient from the free-throw line. LA only committed five turnovers — their second-lowest mark of the year — but their usual shots just weren't falling. 

With that said, LA didn't seem to be too down about losing Game 1. After the contest, Paul George described the team's locker room vibe as "great" and said they would be ready for Game 2.

"We expect to play better," George said. "We're not looking at it as just because of who we have, we are expected to win. We got the same pressure as every team that's in this. It all comes down to who is the last team standings and that's just the pressure every team goes through... We got to be better for Game 2 and I plan on this team bouncing back."

Kawhi Leonard echoed George's statements, saying "everybody was pretty up" and that the team is still in high spirits. 

The Clippers will have a few days off to review film and develop a revised game plan for Game 2, which is set for Tuesday night. Until then, here are a few things we took from the effort. 

Throwing the First Punch

The Clippers fell behind early in Game 1, allowing Dallas to jump out to a 22-10 lead a little more than halfway through the first quarter. LA recovered and made it a three-point game going into the second frame, but the impact of those first few minutes would be felt throughout the rest of the game.

The Mavericks have been phenomenal this season in games in which they led after the opening quarter. With Saturday's win, they improved to 28-0 on the year in such contests. 

Throwing the first punch in the remaining games of this series will be paramount for the Clippers. 

Obviously, LA is capable of breaking Dallas's streak. The Clippers did hold several leads throughout the contest, and the game was tied at 100 with roughly three minutes to play in the fourth quarter. But the Mavericks came out with a sense of urgency and tenacity that the Clippers lacked, and Dallas never wavered when LA took back command. 

If the Clippers can match that level of intensity throughout the series or dictate the flow of each game on their own, they'll be in good shape. 

Three-Point Shooting Swings Out of LA's Favor

The LA Clippers were the most efficient three-point shooting team in the NBA this season and among the best in league history, cashing in on over 41% of their attempts from beyond the arc. There was little doubt that LA would replicate that against Dallas entering the series, but the Clippers struggled to get things going in Game 1.

LA sank just 11 of its 40 three-point attempts on Saturday, with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Marcus Morris Sr. combining to go just 3-20 from range. It was an ugly performance, but one would have to assume that the Clippers will return to form as the series progresses. 

Looking back at the regular season, LA did have two of its worst shooting performances of the year against Dallas in December and March. In their lone regular-season win over the Mavericks, the Clippers were 14-32 from beyond the arc. In the losses, they shot a combined 13-65 from deep. 

On the other hand, Dallas had no problem sinking threes in Game 1. The Mavericks went 17-36 from range as a group and were led by Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dorian Finney-Smith, who combined to go 9-14. 

"If we want to win that series, we better make sure, like, we take all those guys out of the series as well," Nicolas Batum said after the game. "We know what Luka [Doncic] is going to do, obviously, so he's been a great player, but we got to make sure like to, the other guys don't have a great series."

Second Unit Vets Shine

All eyes were on Serge Ibaka as the LA Clippers closed out their regular season. After missing 30 consecutive games with a back injury, the veteran big man returned a little more than a week ago to get some extra games under his belt before the playoffs began.

He, along with Rajon Rondo and Nicolas Batum, looked great in Game 1. 

Together, the trio combined for 30 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and three blocks and went 6-13 from three-point range. Rondo had the only turnover of the bunch, while Ibaka picked up two blocks in just under 13 minutes of action. 

This group of high-IQ vets is one of the things that makes LA's second unit better-built for the postseason than the squad the team had last year. All three players have an abundance of postseason experience and can play high-level basketball on both ends of the floor. 

Rondo, in particular, drew praise from Lue following the loss.

"His pace, his IQ, being in the playoffs as much as he has, he understands the game and how important it is and how significant every possession is," Lue said. "And he did a good job of getting PG some easy shots early on, like in that third quarter. And we need Rondo to play like that."

Reggie Jackson was the only bench player who really seemed to struggle in Game 1, as the veteran guard collected just two points, one rebound, three assists and a block in 21 minutes of action. He also struggled from three-point range, going 0-3 from beyond the arc.

Given Jackson's weaknesses on the defensive end of the floor, look for the Clippers to allocate some of his minutes to Rondo and Patrick Beverley in Game 2. 

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