Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving Unable to Overcome Flat Dallas Mavs Performance in Loss vs. LA Clippers

The Mavs ended a two-game stop in Los Angeles with a loss against the Clippers despite strong performances from Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

LOS ANGELES — The Dallas Mavericks concluded a two-game road trip in California with a 107-88 loss against the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday. The Mavs dropped to 10-6 on the season, while the Clippers improved to 7-8. 

The Mavs started Richaun Holmes with Dereck Lively II sidelined due to a lower back contusion, which he suffered in Wednesday's win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Lively's absence was strongly felt, with Dallas often struggling to control the paint.

"When you look at our center position this evening, I think we were 0-4 [from the floor]. That's not what D Live [Dereck Lively II] does," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. "He can put the ball in the basket, but [Richaun] Holmes and DP [Dwight Powell] were good. We just couldn't capitalize and get those guys some shots that they had made here in the past."

With consistent troubles containing the Clippers from attacking the paint and making plays, the Mavs trailed 13-7 at the 6:26 mark of the first quarter. The team had already been outscored 10-0 in paint points. After a dunk from Ivica Zubac with 3:07 left in the opening period, Los Angeles took their first double-figure lead (21-10). The Mavs had two days off before this game, while the Clippers played on the second night of a back-to-back, but the gameplay suggested the opposite was the case. 

"I thought their physicality [was a problem]," Kidd said. "They were physical from the start and shot the ball well. The positive things we talked about were that we only had nine turnovers."

Doncic hurt his hand early in the game and was noticeably impacted by it, prompting him to go to the locker room after checking out of the game for the first time in the opening period. He went on to still score a game-high 22 points by the half. The Slovenian superstar mentioned he underwent an X-ray at halftime, and while the results were negative, he will undergo further examination in Dallas.

"I don't think it's broken. The X-rays, initially, was that it was broken," Doncic said. "So, we'll see further tomorrow in Dallas."

The Mavs relied heavily on the production of Doncic and Kyrie Irving, scoring 34 of the team's 45 first-half points. The rest of Dallas' team had scored only 11 points while shooting 3-19 from the floor, 0-8 from beyond the arc, and 5-6 on free throws. It wasn't until the 5:05 mark of the second period when Tim Hardaway Jr. made a shot that a Mavs player not named Doncic or Irving even recorded a made field goal. 

"We didn't shoot the three well," Kidd said. "Timmy, LD, and Kai, those were the guys that pretty much carried us offensively. But we got to get other guys involved [and] they have to knock down shots."

With the Clippers being an aggressive defense with switching while throwing out double teams, there was a lot of pressure on Doncic and Irving to make plays within the Mavs' half-court actions without much help. Dallas trailed by as many as 18 points in the opening half. 

" Yeah, I think we need to be a little bit better on [countering double teams], and I have to play better, make better reads, for sure," Doncic said. "Just make the easy play, don't try to do anything hard. Just make the easy play then we can play 4-on-3.  It's not on them, it's on me, so I have to make the simple play. "

The Clippers deployed more tilting defensively early in the second half, but regardless of approach, they had a lot of success in stifling the Mavs' non-All-Star players. Los Angeles went back to more switching midway through the third period, seeking to throw different looks at the Mavs' top talents. 

Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic guards Los Angeles Clippers' Paul George / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The state of affairs for the Mavs continued to worsen as the game progressed, facing a 24-point deficit with 4:34 left in the third quarter, prompting Dallas to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, facing the most significant deficit of the game, the Mavs went to a small ball lineup with Doncic and Irving playing next to Dante Exum, Grant Williams, and Hardaway. 

Irving took a tough pull-up 3-pointer to beat the buzzer before the end of the third quarter and was successful on the attempt. The Mavs entered the final period trailing 79-62, providing the team's best surge since coming out of the half to that point.

With Irving continuing to be aggressive scoring, the Mavs rallied back to trail by 13 points with 10:05 remaining in regulation. He scored 10 points with about 29 seconds left in the third quarter to lead the run. The Clippers were aggressive in sending doubles against Doncic, prompting a reliance on Irving to set the tone as a scorer.

"All points count. That's the object of this game here," Irving said. "And that's the hardest thing to do in this league is score at a very high rate and especially do it on back-to-back possessions, let alone one possession. So I just tried to ease our pain tonight a little bit on that end, and shots were in and out. 

"We took some tough ones, but alleviating the pressure can't just come from me," Irving explained. "It's got to come from all guys on the team. And again, we got our butts handed to us tonight and we have to take this loss and continue to learn from it."

A lack of general offensive capability and size from the Mavs' perimeter rotation continued to be a fundamental limitation against the Clippers, a persistent theme in many of the team's losses this season. The defensive woes were exacerbated with Lively sidelined and unable to provide rim protection.

With an inability to stay alert to close defensive possessions, the Mavs allowed perimeter players on the weak side to swoop in and come up with offensive rebounds for second-chance points in inopportune moments, being a factor in stifling a comeback attempt. 

"Well, you look at the league, and everybody crashes [the boards], so it's not just the bigs that have to box out. It's everyone," Kidd said. "We have to do a better job, especially when you talk about [Russell] Westbrook and [Terance] Mann. Those guys are going to crash sports. And so we have to do a better job of boxing out." 

With 4:45 left in regulation, the Mavs pulled Docnic and Irving, signaling a waving of the proverbial white flag. The team closed it with Seth Curry, Jaden Hardy, Exum, Olivier-Maxence Prosper, and Holmes on the court. 

Doncic finished with 30 points, three rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks, but had an inefficient performance playing through the thumb injury. Irving totaled 26 points, six rebounds, and three assists, with the only other double-figure scorer on the Mavs being Hardaway with 12 points. 

Paul George set the tone for the Clippers, scoring 25 points and adding nine rebounds and four assists. Terance Mann and Russell Westbrook posed problems with their hard-nosed approach; Westbrook contributed 14 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, while Mann had 17 points and three rebounds. 

The Clippers didn't need much scoring from Kawhi Leonard or James Harden, as both players finished with eight points and played just under 30 minutes apiece. However, Ivica Zubac was a standout performer deserving of highlighting as he added 11 points and 14 rebounds, often doing the dirty work on both ends. 

The Mavs return to action on Tuesday when they face the Houston Rockets, the final of four NBA In-Season Tournament games, despite their elimination from advancement. It'll mark the start of a three-game homestand.