Doncic's 43 Points Not Enough as Clippers Outlast Lackadaisical Mavs

Coming into Tuesday's contest, the Los Angeles Clippers had lost six consecutive games, but there's apparently no better cure for a losing skid than playing a limited Dallas Mavericks squad. Kawhi Leonard's got the best of Luka Doncic on this night.

Maybe it was the long flight to the West Coast. Maybe it was the L.A. night life. Maybe it was simply a case of a shorthanded team running out of steam.

Whatever the case may be, the Dallas Mavericks (23-19) came out lackadaisical in the first half of their matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers (22-21) on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. Despite a valiant effort in the second half, Dallas wasn't able to overcome that poor start as the Clippers pulled away with a 113-101 win.

Luka Doncic, who made his return to action after sitting out Sunday's loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder, finished with 43 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists on 12-22 shooting from the field. Doncic passed Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant for the most regular and postseason 40-point games scored against the Clippers all-time. He's now put up at least 40 points on the Clippers eight times in his young five-year career.

The Clippers double-teamed Doncic for the majority of the first three quarters until Mavs role players other than Tim Hardaway Jr. started hitting a few shots. Doncic proceeded to pour on the points against his playoff rivals when that defensive change was made.

Speaking of Hardaway, who has been in trade rumors recently, he provided Doncic with the most help on Tuesday by scoring 16 points on 6-11 shooting, including 3-6 from deep. If Hardaway is destined to be traded, he put on a good showing as that time nears.

In the fourth quarter, it was essentially Doncic vs. the entire Clippers' squad by himself, as he went 5-6 from the field, including 2-2 from deep in the final period. Every other Maverick combined to go 1-11 from the field, including 1-9 from deep.

The Clippers were missing Paul George in this matchup, but Kawhi Leonard was more than capable of picking up the slack, as he finished with 33 points on 9-12 shooting from the field and 12-12 from the free-throw line. Having lost six consecutive games coming into Tuesday night's game, the Clippers played with a heightened sense of urgency to get off their skid.

Despite losing three of their last four games following their season-high seven-game win streak, the Mavs still sit in fourth-place in the Western Conference standings by a razor-thin margin. They'll need to rediscover their winning ways soon though if they want to avoid slipping.

Next up, the Mavs will be at Crypto.com Arena yet again on Thursday night as they take on LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. Dallas defeated the Lakers in their first matchup on Christmas Day, 124-115. Doncic finished with 32 points in that one, and Wood had arguably the best game of his career with 30 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, four steals and two blocks.

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