Luka Doncic's Dallas Mavs Nearly Pull Off 22-Point Comeback in Loss vs. Los Angeles Clippers

The shorthanded Mavs nearly pulled off a comeback victory after trailing by as many as 22 points but ultimately lost to the Clippers.

DALLAS — After a blowout road loss against the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets, the shorthanded Dallas Mavericks returned with a 120-111 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers at American Airlines Center on Wednesday. The Mavs dropped to 16-11 overall, while the Clippers are now 17-10 and clinch the tie-breaker by winning the season series 2-1. 

Both teams were without key players, with All-Stars Kyrie Irving (right heel contusion) and Paul George (illness) headlining the list of sidelined players. The Mavs were without Dereck Lively II (left ankle sprain), Josh Green (right elbow sprain), and Maxi Kleber (right small toe dislocation), too. 

Early on, instead of blitzing ball screens to force the ball out of Doncic's hands early and allowing 4-on-3 situations, the Clippers switched and loaded up the gaps and sent late doubles when he attacked downhill. The general strategy also involved loading the paint while making some concessions for weaker shooters. 

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The base strategy worked as the Slovenian superstar missed his initial six shots from the floor before finally scoring using a spin out of the post against a smaller defender, drawing a late double as he finished a floater for an and-one. 

Later, the Clippers deployed Kawhi Leonard as the primary defender against Doncic to eliminate mismatch hunting, resulting in the Mavs using him more as a ball screener to create clean driving lanes for teammates. However, Dallas looked to play more out of Horns along the way, ideally to create a cleaner set of circumstances for Doncic to attack by beginning touches without dribbling.

Lively available to protect the paint, the Mavs switched 1-5 often, trusting Dwight Powell and Markieff Morris and sending doubles against Leonard, particularly on post touches. There were breakdowns in Dallas' switching approach while also struggling to contain dribble penetration. 

The Clippers converted at a much stronger clip than the Mavs in the opening quarter, establishing a 35-22 lead. In a rare slow start for Doncic, Leonard was the game's leading scorer (10 points) after one period. Doncic had seven points and three assists but struggled to convert overall. 

The Mavs faced a clear disadvantage regarding available firepower when Doncic was on the bench. In a typical situation, they'd have Irving run the bench group in the second quarter, but instead, Dante Exum was the only available ball-handler. Meanwhile, Harden and Westbrook orchestrated the Clippers' offense, helping to establish an 18-point lead (45-27) at the 8:54 mark. Doncic checked back into the game amid those struggles to prevent the deficit from getting out of reach.

Doncic spent his second-quarter possessions doing a combination of attacking switches and playing out of the elbow in Horns. The Clippers became more aggressive in loading up the gaps against Doncic in those Horns sets after he had previously succeeded in attacking downhill earlier in the game. 

The Clippers primarily ran the offense through Harden throughout the second quarter, attacking mismatches with switches and playing out of double-drag screening actions. With Los Angeles' continued shotmaking results, the Mavs struggled to keep pace even with Doncic on the floor early on, trailing by as many as 22 points, but later, they created some momentum. 

Doncic found a rhythm midway through the second quarter by attacking earlier in the shot clock. He used Derrick Jones Jr. and later Tim Hardaway Jr. often as a side ball screener in empty corner situations to force switches with room to attack. He converted a turnaround jumper in the post, followed by a step-back 3, prompting the Clippers to call a timeout with 4:58 left after the Mavs cut the deficit to 15 points. The Slovenian superstar continued to seek mismatches to exploit and succeeded after getting off to a slow start.

A pair of made 3-pointers from Hardaway helped the Mavs to end the first half trailing by 11 points after frequently trailing by 15 or more points throughout the second period. Doncic finished the half with 21 points, five rebounds, and six assists while shooting 7-17 from the floor, 2-7 from deep, and 5-6 on free throws. The Clippers shot 59.0 percent from the floor, compared to the Mavs' 41.7 percent clip. 

"I think it was the ability to make the adjustment at halftime. There's a lot of basketball to be played," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. "We had a lot of good looks that didn't go down. When you're shorthanded, you've got to make shots. We can sit here and talk about defense, but our offense is our defense. 

"We started to make shots there at the end of the second [quarter]," Kidd explained. "I thought the physicality that started off the third [quarter] was good [by] making the adjustment with the lineup going small to see how guys were going to react to that. That small group did a good job."

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The Mavs deployed a small ball lineup with Ivica Zubac still on the floor, featuring Doncic, Exum, Hardaway, Williams, and Jones to provide a faster, more versatile defensive unit and better half-court spacing. It resulted in a significant advantage, often forcing turnovers and missed shots before getting out in transition.

Yeah, we built the lead with traditional 5 with [Dwight] Powell in the game," Lue said. "Like I said, J-Kidd [Jason Kidd] made a good adjustment going small at halftime, and we weren’t going to adjust to them. We were going to see how it worked out first."

A drive and finish by Hardaway early in the third quarter, followed by a transition putback from Grant Williams, cut the Mavs' deficit to just seven points. Dallas continued to rally back, finishing a steal with a breakaway dunk for Hardaway to trail just 69-64 at the 9:29 mark. Dallas' small ball group ultimately achieved a significant rally to cut the Clippers' lead to just one point before bringing Dwight Powell back into the lineup.

During the Mavs' run, Doncic remained the focus of the Clippers' aggressive defensive approach in the half-court throughout the Mavs' run stretch. He often played out of corner pindowns and served as a decoy, finding weak-side threats to attack off the catch, but only scored one point. Most of the production came by pushing the pace after forcing turnovers or corraling missed shots. 

The Clippers were aggressive by doubling Doncic with Powell on the floor, while the Mavs' defensive execution suffered with a slower big man on the court. Los Angeles regained a lead as large as 10 points after this point. Dallas subbed out Powell and had more room to operate, with Doncic making plays on drives and the defense forcing turnovers. Dallas trailed 85-83 entering the fourth quarter after succeeding when deploying a small ball group to close the third period. 

Los Angeles began the fourth quarter with momentum as the Mavs' smaller personnel struggled to close plays in the paint on defense, giving up a few second-chance scoring opportunities. However, Dallas tightened up its execution. 

With the Clippers blitzing Doncic, the team got creative, using Exum as a screener to attack out of the short roll and push the transition pace when possible. The Mavs used a corner 3-pointer from Exum to take the lead, with the Clippers continuing to switch screens and send late doubles on Doncic to get the ball out of his hands—Los Angeles' willingness to live with those results paid off later on. 

"We went small at the end to try and just be faster to fly around with Luka," Lue said. "To switch the five to get the ball out of his hands, being more active, and then putting more pressure on them defensively, having to guard us small when Kawhi was pretty much the biggest guy on the floor.”

Doncic later served as a decoy screening for Exum, creating a clean drive-and-dish for a go-ahead 3-pointer by Jaden Hardy out of the corner. Dallas led 98-97 with 7:24 remaining in regulation, prompting the Clippers to call a timeout. The Mavs dialed up the defensive intensity with full-court pressure and blitzing. Still, Harden solved them, including making numerous step-back 3s and connecting with Terance Mann on short rolls to pick apart the backline of the defense.

"They went on a pretty good run, made some shots, and the last seven minutes of the game we decided to go small to try to be able to fly around defensively," Lue said. "And then offensively, put them in a tough position because now they had to guard our smalls. So, we did a good job with that.”

"They really didn’t know where they wanted to double from," Lue explained. "And then when they started blitzing James [Harden], having T-Mann [Terance Mann] and then short-rolling their pocket, and being able to deliver to him and make plays, was really good for us. It got Kawhi on a dunk, on a lob, and then got a layup one time. Just having changed the game up a little bit."

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With the Clippers frequently sending late doubles at Doncic, he found ways to create advantages for timely plays throughout the stretch run of the game. He held the double team at one point long enough to force a recovery, then attacked downhill for a floater. He often accepted the coverage, moving the ball to create open shots. Hardaway took advantage with a made 3-pointer, putting Dallas back ahead 105-104, but the execution wasn't sustained for the remainder of the game.

Leonard began to leave his imprint on the game as the Mavs' offensive execution halted. He drew two on a drive for a dropoff pass, resulting in an and-one for Norman Powell on a cut, then attacked the baseline for a dunk. The Clippers took a 116-110 lead with 1:47 remaining in regulation. Dallas failed to rally back to close the game.  

“We stayed even-keeled," Leonard said. "We thought we could win the game still. We started moving the ball and shooting the ball with confidence, and it kept the lead going.”

Doncic ended his performance with 28 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists after playing 44 minutes. He shot just 9-25 from the floor, 2-11 from deep, and 8-14 on free throws while turning it over five times. He bared the heavy brunt of a versatile defense, applying aggressive schemes to slow him down. 

The Mavs relied on Hardaway for much of the night as a secondary option. While he ended up with 21 points, three rebounds, and three steals, he shot only 8-21 overall and 3-11 from beyond the arc. Hardy was another option relied on to create. The second-year guard chipped in 15 points and two rebounds but shot only 5-13 from the field and 5-9 from deep. 

Jones, whose versatility was needed in small-ball lineups, totaled 19 points, three rebounds, and two blocks. Exum racked up 16 points, six rebounds, and two blocks, providing a necessary backcourt option with Irving sidelined. Both players have continued to fill crucial team roles that have only grown amid injuries. Grant Williams added nine points, nine rebounds, and four assists but has struggled to shoot from the perimeter on 1-4 from deep.

The Clippers were led by Leonard, who finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists despite having an off-shooting night from 3-point range. Powell was the team's secondary scorer, racking up 21 points. Harden added 17 points and 11 assists, while Westbrook provided 10 points, six rebounds, and three assists, with both players providing a needed boost in their key backcourt roles. Zubac added 12 points and nine rebounds, and Daniel Theis had 11 points and two rebounds. 

The Mavs return to action on Friday when they begin a back-to-back, starting with a road matchup against the Houston Rockets, followed by a home game against the San Antonio Spurs.