Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving Guide Dallas Mavericks to Game 2 Victory Over Clippers, Tie Series 1-1

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving led the Dallas Mavericks to an impressive Game 2 victory over the LA Clippers despite Kawhi Leonard returning to the lineup.

Apr 23, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) and Los Angeles / Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

LOS ANGELES — Coming off a flat performance in a series-opening loss against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Dallas Mavericks achieved a hard-fought 96-93 victory. The series is now tied 1-1, with the next two games played at American Airlines Center. It was a contest featuring physical defense from both teams in a true grind-it-out type of victory for the Mavericks.

“We played 48 minutes of physical basketball,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “Both teams were under 100. It was '90s basketball at its best.”

Apr 23, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) and Los Angeles / Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

Kawhi Leonard returned to the Clippers' lineup after being sidelined for Game 1 due to right knee inflammation. Opening the series with a victory, Los Angeles defended home court without him, with James Harden, Ivica Zubac, Paul George, and Russell Westbrook stepping up, but proved unable to do so again in Game 2. Leonard finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, and four steals but shot just 7-17 (41.2%) overall and missed all five of his 3-point attempts.

“I felt good,” Leonard said. “We still got more games to play and more time to get better. Just keep trying to get a rhythm back.”

Luka Doncic finished with 32 points, nine assists, and six rebounds while playing hard-nosed defense despite being frequently targeted in screening actions by the Clippers' superstars. Kyrie Irving provided a needed impact next to the Slovenian superstar, totaling 23 points, six rebounds, and three assists.

"I accept it," Doncic said of being targeted defensively. "It gets me going on the defensive end, too. That's fine. I think I played good defense today. I've just got to stay locked in."

In stark contrast to Game 1, when non-Doncic and non-Irving Mavericks players combined for just 33 points on poor shooting, Dallas received a pair of double-figure scoring outings from supporting cast players. P.J. Washington scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter while adding six rebounds and two blocks. Derrick Jones Jr. scored 10 points and added seven rebounds.

Both teams struggled to score early, with the first side to even break the 10-point threshold being the Clippers at the 5:28 mark after Harden made a pair of free throws. Doncic answered with a mid-range step-back to get Dallas an 11-10 lead. The Slovenian superstar went on to score 12 points in the opening quarter, with his off-the-dribble shooting inside the 3-point line falling, guiding Dallas to being up 23-19 through the initial 12 minutes.

“Same as Game 1, I thought they were just doing a great job of packing the paint, junking it up," George said about the Mavericks' defense. "Physicality, they’ve definitely been physical, but that’s playoff basketball, nothing out of the norm. But they are doing a great job of packing the paint I would say. We just gotta do a better job, playing a little faster.”

With Leonard in the lineup, Irving spent more time guarding Harden as a primary assignment. Still, the Mavericks deployed more pre-switching to reduce unfavorable matchups within the flow of possessions. Irving was competitive in guarding not only Harden but even the wing assignments he had to take amidst switching. Dallas elevated its defensive execution as a collective understanding more would be needed with Leonard added into the mix.

"It’s a physical game both ways, and we know what to expect for the rest of the series," Irving said. "We’re going against some potential hall of famers who play the game at a high level, they know personnel very well, so you gotta give them respect, but also you gotta go at them and that’s a competitor’s dream.”

Zubac found himself in early foul trouble after picking up his second personal foul at 9:26 in the first quarter. Daniel Gafford was shaken up after an early play, causing him to go to the locker room, resulting in Dereck Lively II checking into the game. Gafford was later designated as questionable to return and played only nine minutes on the night, requiring Lively to step up.

The Clippers regained a 26-25 lead over the Mavericks after Leonard began attacking in short-range against Washington. A challenging pull-up on one possession led to a passing chance to set up Norman Powell for a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer on a corner shakeup. While he made his presence felt defensively in the game, Leonard's best flashes of being the superstar offensive threat he tends to pose were provided in this segment of the game.

With both teams continuing to play a grind-it-out game, the Mavericks narrowly out-edged the Clippers entering the break, holding a 45-41 lead. Doncic continued to set the tone with 18 points and four assists, while Harden (12 points) and George (10 points) scored double figures for Los Angeles. Dallas was intent on being more physical defensively, and it helped to set the tone.

"Just how physical the game was, obviously they punched us in the mouth coming into Game 1, so we just wanted to respond tonight, and I feel like we set the tone defensively and with our aggression out there," Washington said.

The Mavericks withstood the Clippers' heightened shotmaking after halftime, even using a steal leading to a breakaway dunk for Irving to extend their advantage to 55-48 with 7:52 left in the third quarter. Los Angeles became more focused on blitzing Doncic, resulting in him having to drag two defenders wide before making a play.

"We've seen this all season when they're going to take the ball out of Luka or Kai's hands," Kidd said. "Luka is making the right plays, he's accepting the double team, and then I think the trust that those guys have with one another."

With Gafford dealing with injury, the Mavericks relied on Lively to start the second half and he showed intriguing potential on both ends by matching Zubac's physicality and being an athletic paint protector. Zubac had buried Gafford under the rim numerous times in Game 1 with a physical approach using his size as an advantage, but Lively held his own, finishing with seven points, nine rebounds, and one block in 21 minutes. Josh Green was relied on more with Tim Hardaway Jr. being ruled out due to a right ankle injury, providing the Mavericks with another athletic wing to fly around the half-court defensively and make hustle plays.

While Doncic and Irving hit timely jumpers, the Clippers began stacking together defensive stops and went on a 7-0 run to go up 62-61 late in the third period. The Mavericks stayed poised as a group, understanding that such a talented opponent was bound to make a run.

“We talked about this, a game of runs. The Clippers made a run. The big thing is to stay together, and that was...again, we’ve seen teams take the lead, and just, the big thing is that they truly believe that they can stay together, and we answered with a run," Kidd said. "We just felt like we had some great looks. The Clippers are a very good team, and so we knew that they weren’t just going to go away. But I thought the response after that timeout just shows how competitive the guys are and how bad they wanted to win.”

After Doncic attacked the rim for a finish to tie it up before the third quarter ended, he was called for a technical foul. Harden made the free throw to put the Clippers up 66-65. The Mavericks needed to get back on track but continued to have the momentum against them early in the final period.

Beginning the fourth quarter with a 7-2 run, the Clippers extended their lead to 73-67, entering a timeout called with 9:32 remaining in regulation. Dallas had a few defensive possessions in this stretch that could not account for containing dribble penetration and staying attached to Zubac.

Washington tied it up 73-73 after knocking down a corner 3-pointer, with Doncic taking control of the pace to slow it down. With the Clippers not picking up Doncic on the following possession, he pulled up from deep to give the Mavericks the advantage, prompting Tyronn Lue to call a timeout.

"It’s all work. I just gotta trust my work, I’ve been working hard all year, all summer, and my whole life, so just gotta go in and play basketball," Washington said.

Coming out of the stoppage, Doncic drew a late double in the post to set up Irving for a quick trigger catch-and-shoot 3-pointer, putting Dallas up by six. After Doncic guarded Leonard and pulled off a stop by forcing him into a tough baseline jumper out of a post-up, Irving attacked downhill for a floater, extending it to a 14-0 run for the Mavericks. Russell Westbrook finally answered with a 3-pointer, but this stretch proved pivotal for Dallas.

“My mindset in the fourth quarter is trying to win the game," Doncic said. "Sometimes, I’ll drive, somebody’s going to be open, but just trying to win the game, trying to make big plays, I know that Kyrie is next to me, so it makes my life easier, and just going. Go get a win.”

George sliced through the defense for a finish to make it a five-point game, followed by the Clippers' defense forcing a 24-second shot clock violation. George then found Zubac on a dropoff pass for an emphatic dunk, bringing Los Angeles within three. It was one of the Clippers' best runs, but the Mavericks answered.

Maxi Kleber rose to the occasion with a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer with Jones, then stripping Zubac on the other end before closing the possession. Dallas protected its six-point lead with about a minute and a half left until Doncic hit a pivotal step-back from beyond the arc, setting up a 90-81 advantage with 1:26 left to play—creating a momentum-boosting play and letting the crowd at Crypto.com Arena hear it.

"it was a big moment. I think it was a big three," Doncic said. "I was just trying to get to my spot and knock down the three."

While the Clippers had a few scoring possessions down the stretch, the Mavericks answered with accurate free-throw shooting. However, after a successful challenge, Leonard got by Irving on a cut, reducing Dallas' lead to 93-90. Irving was wrapped up intentionally before splitting a pair of throws and then grabbing the rebound on the miss to create a perfect trip to the line to clinch the win.

Despite losing Game 2, the Clippers remain confident in their approach while they work through integrating Leonard back into the fold. Los Angeles shot 36.8% from the floor and 26.7% from beyond the arc, results the team does not believe will happen again, similar to how the Mavericks remained confident being held to 30 points in the first half of Game 1 was not an indictment on approach, but rather a fluke outcome relating to execution.

“Our defense was great. I thought we did a good job defensively when we hold this team to 96 points. You can’t ask for anything better," Lue said. "So offensively just being better, playing with more pace, getting into the paint a little bit more. We missed a lot of shots, but as far as what we did defensively, I take that every day of the week.

"Luka made some tough shots. Kyrie made some tough shots," Lue explained. "We talked about before the series that they are gonna be able to do that but overall to hold this team to 96 points, that’s a really great defensive night. We just got to do a better job of scoring the basketball.”

The Clippers seem confident that the results of having Leonard back into the fold will translate to more room for improvement than the Mavericks face based on how the two teams stack up and approach the game. Currently, Los Angeles has to work through building Leonard's rhythm and doing so as a group.

“He’s as good as it comes at getting his shots, the type of shots he wants to get, and creating and generating good looks, so it’s great to have that back," George said of Leonard. But obviously, there is a little adjustment with him coming back, him getting his rhythm, and us playing while having our best player back on the floor with us. That’s all I thought it was.

"The more we get back together, the timing and rhythm with everybody being back together, it’ll get back to where it was," George explained.

The Mavericks are an energized group with a 1-1 series lead by splitting the two games in Los Angeles following the lead of Doncic, who helped set the tone defensively just as much as he tends to do with his mastery offensively despite playing 46 of 48 minutes. Doncic's team followed his lead to hold a team with four future Hall of Fame players below 100 points.

"When he's playing at that level, they have to step up to they understand the responsibility of their leader when he's going to play defense and participate, they have to be able to do the same thing," Kidd said. "And so again, he's leading not just on the offensive end, but the defensive end, he's made some great plays, coming up with steals and then rebounds and then being able to guard the ball.

"We know that teams are going to put him in the pick-and-roll, and he knows that, so he's been able to pick his spots and understands that we need those stops," Kidd explained. "Again, when you can hold the Clippers because they're a great offensive team under 100 points, that shows we're playing defense at a high level."

Looking ahead, the Mavericks and Clippers will face off on Friday with Game 3 and 4 being played at American Airlines Center.