Luka Doncic Leads Dallas Mavericks to Game 5 Victory Over Clippers, Lead 3-2 in Series

Using a strong bounce-back performance from Luka Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead.

May 1, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; LA Clippers guard Amir Coffey (7) and Dallas Mavericks / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

LOS ANGELES — With all eyes on Luka Doncic's ability to power through a right knee sprain and an illness, he led the Dallas Mavericks to a 123-93 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series. The Mavericks now hold a 3-2 series lead with the chance to close it out in Game 6 at American Airlines Center on Friday.

“I think it was a very big game,” Doncic said. “We win, and now we’ve got to win one out of two. We’ve got to go back to Dallas and play the same way.”

May 1, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; LA Clippers guard Amir Coffey (7) and Dallas Mavericks / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Doncic recorded 35 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds, shooting 14-26 from the floor and 5-5 on free throws despite going 2-8 from deep. He played through a knee sprain and illness but used the adrenaline of leading his team to victory in a playoff game.

"I mean, it's not really good. But like I talk about the journey of a playoff game, once you get started, you want to do everything you can to help your team win," Doncic said. "So I just try to keep going."

Among the adjustments the Mavericks made was to more frequently deploy double big lineups with Maxi Kleber on the court next to one of Daniel Gafford or Dereck Lively II. It was challenging for the Clippers to attack the paint or get clean looks from beyond the arc, proving to be the result of Dallas tightening up significantly on that front. The Clippers were held to shooting just 37.9% overall and 25.7% from the perimeter on the night.

“I think it was just the carryover from Game 4, talking about it, watching it,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “Being able to play with pace on offense, but just doing a good job of taking the 3 out of the game.”

Doncic got off to a strong start in the game, getting to the rim more frequently than in prior performances and having his short-range touch in his favor. He scored 15 points while shooting 7-10 from inside the arc. However, he struggled to make his 3-point attempts, missing all five he took before halftime. He emphasized attacking downhill more frequently, leading to finishes, short-range shot-creation opportunities, and chances to create advantages for teammates.

"My shooting has not been great, not even good, very bad, actually. I was just getting downhill," Doncic said. "The first four 3s I took felt great, they just didn't go in but then my mentality was going downhill."

The Clippers could not receive additional dynamic performances from Paul George or James Harden in this match after they both dominated in Game 4. After the Clippers led by two points late in the first quarter, Dallas began to take over and never looked after closing the first.

Neither George nor Harden ultimately found a rhythm, coming off performances with 33 points each. George finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists on the night, shooting 4-13 from the floor and 2 -6 from deep, while Harden was contained to seven points and seven assists on 2-12 shooting from the floor and went 1-7 on 3-pointers.

“Just the physicality, the right mindset. I think after the last game, we saw that we can’t come out flat, especially in the first quarter," Kleber said. "I think we did a better job today, everybody collectively. It’s not just a one-man job, never, doesn’t matter if it’s Zubac, PG, Harden, or anybody, it’s never a one-man job.

"We have to make sure to protect each other and that has to be the mindset," Kleber explained. "When everybody’s playing with the right physicality, you take those things away.” 

With Doncic playing through injury and illness, there was a greater emphasis on Irving to be aggressive early. Kidd ran the first few offensive plays with Irving as the focus to help get him going early to establish himself and exploit favorable matchups and scheme weaknesses given Doncic is the Clippers' focus.

"I think it sends a very direct message to not only my teammates and me, but also to the other team that we see a mismatch out there," Irving said. "We see something that we can take advantage of, no disrespect to who we're playing against, but it's just more or less about the numbers.

"When your number's called, then you just gotta be ready to stay aggressive," Irving explained. "I felt pretty good and confident that J Kidd threw some plays my way, and I was able to get it going, and then I feel like the rest of the game was pretty much settled."

Irving helped set the tone defensively by applying ball pressure against Harden. It proved to be a helpful factor in containing the Clippers' offense.

“It was just taking what the defense was giving me and also understanding that a lot of my energy was going to be poured into the defensive end, so just wanted to start off the game giving myself something easy and get my teammates that confidence that we’re attacking them all night," Irving said. "Just starting off the game like that from minute one felt pretty good. Everybody else pretty much followed suit, so it felt good.”

Aside from Maxi Kleber's four made 3-pointers in the first half, the Mavericks sorely struggled in the perimeter shooting department, going 1-15 outside Kleber's 4 of 6. Beyond Doncic's 15 points, he added six assists and five rebounds at the break, while Irving had six points and five assists.

“Amazing, I think we created a lot of open shots. We couldn’t knock them down, until the next three in a row, so that helped," Doncic said of Kleber. "The whole team, just the energy in the game just off the bench, was in the game the whole time and he just helped us. He was very big for us today, big shots.”

The Mavericks struggled to handle Terance Mann and Ivica Zubac throughout the first half, but the rest of the Clippers struggled to contribute. Both players added double-figure scoring, with Zubac having 13 points on 6-7 shooting and Mann adding 11 points on 5-7 shooting. The rest of the team had 22 points on 7-31 shooting at the break.

After a near 24-second shot clock turnover forced by the defense, the Mavericks pushed the pace with Irving throwing a no-look lob to Gafford for an acrobatic finish. The play put Dallas ahead by double figures for the first time, occurring late in the second quarter.

After a series of incredible plays from the Mavericks' superstar backcourt, including a flashy behind-the-back move into an inside finish from Irving, later followed by Doncic hitting a tough short-range jumper, then Doncic finishing an and-one, Dallas had broken the game open. The Mavericks led by as many as 25 points midway through the third quarter, with Doncic and Irving making no shortage of savvy offensive plays and strong defensive execution to back them up.

There was a significant rise in the frequency the Clippers blitzed Doncic after Irving checked out of the game late in the third quarter. With Dallas deploying a bigger lineup, Doncic signaled to his unit to play out of Horns while having a big in the dunker spot, posing problems for Los Angeles.

The Mavericks closed the third quarter with a four-point play out of the corner from Josh Green being a big play. Dallas continued to control the momentum. Doncic hit a step-back 3-pointer after drawing Zubac on a switch, followed by Irving hitting a paint jumper, pushing the Mavericks' lead to 27, and entering a timeout with 7:25 left to play.

Continuing to pour it on the Clippers, Doncic attacked the paint for an and-one on a floater to push the Mavericks' lead to 30 points. He checked out after intentionally fouling following making his free throw. Dallas held a lead too substantial for Los Angeles to make a rallying effort.

Looking ahead to Game 6, the Mavericks understand the need to continue executing at a high level defensively. Irving emphasized how the team has embraced having a defensive identity, something that tends to be a trait of championship teams.

“It’s just become part of our identity," Irving said. "Towards the end of the season, regular season, really hanging our hat on the defensive end and understanding that some of the greatest teams in NBA history have won championships playing defense."

Irving explained how the Mavericks reflected on the defensive shortcomings they experienced in their previous few games. Against a tough opponent like the Clippers, it's needed to pay close attention to detail and an aggressive mindset are needed as opposed to making creative X's and O's adjustments.

"We talked about the last few games, and we gave them a lot of easy shots, body position mistakes that we were making last game, and when you give a team like that a lot of confidence they are going to push you to the ground and show no mercy," Irving said. "Tonight, we knew we were getting into a real chess match like I said. I think you saw it tonight. It wasn’t so many adjustments, it was about effort on the offense and defensive end.”

The next installment of this series will take place on Friday at American Airlines Center, as the Mavericks and Clippers compete in Game 6. Dallas could close out the series and would play Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals on Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center. Otherwise, a potential Game 7 against the Clippers would take place on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.