Mavs Take 2-0 Series Lead Over Clippers With Win In LA

The Dallas Mavericks lead the LA Clippers 2-0 after winning at the Staples Center on Tuesday night

Matt Galatzan | May 26, 2021

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Coming off of a shocking win in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Luka Doncic led Dallas Mavericks looked to take a major advantage in the series before their trip back to Dallas.

On Tuesday night, they did just that, winning 127-121 at Staples Center, and taking a 2-0 series lead in the process.

Luka Doncic, who was coming off of a 31-point maestro performance in Game 1, showed up in a big way for the Mavs once again, scoring 39 points to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists in 38 minutes, while hitting 16-of-29 from the floor.

Said LA’s Paul George: “I give credit to Luka. He's good, he's special.”

Tim Hardaway Jr. was also key in the Mavs win, scoring 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. His late 3 helped seal the deal here.

Said Hardaway Jr. of the big shot: "Something that you live for, man."

Meanwhile, the front court pairing of Kristaps Porzingis and Maxi Kleber was effective, each guy able to score in double-figures as well, with Porzingis ending the game with 20 points and Kleber adding 13 of his own.

On the other end of the floor, the Clippers were led by the tandem of Kawhi Leonard and George, who scored 41 points and 28 points, respectively.

As a team, the Mavs were once again lights-out on the offensive end, hitting 58.5 percent from the floor, including 52.9 percent from three, while turning the ball over just 11 times, and assisting on 25 of their 48 made shots.

Following the win - executed with the icon Dirk Nowitzki watching in person - the Mavs will now head back to the friendly confines of American Airlines Center for the first of two straight home games, where they will be welcomed by 15,000 fans in what will be their largest crowd of the season.

The game will tip-off at 8:30 CT, and will be broadcast on ESPN. And the Dallas approach?

“The mentality,” Luka said, “was go out there, play aggressive, have fun, and that's it."

Dallas now has to do that just two more times.

CONTINUE READING: Bulls' Markkanen Aims To Join Mavs, Team With Luka & Porzingis?

Published May 26, 2021

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com, AllAggies.com, and the Managing Editor of BuckeyesNow.com and TheGroveReport.com. He is also the Editor-In-Chief of RamDigest.com and TexansDaily.com. Galatzan graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry under Mike Fisher at DallasBasketball.com in 2014, which at the time was part of the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com on the 247Sports network. When DallasBasketball.com and CowboysCountry.com moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, Galatzan followed suit, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com and AllAggies.com a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, former Longhorns players Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, and many other recruits, and current/former players for each of the teams he has covered. Galatzan is also a full-time employee in the digital media department for Audacy and KRLD FM's 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, which is the official radio home of the Dallas Cowboys. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan. For any inquiries, please email matt.galatzan@gmail.com