NBA Playoff GAMEDAY: Can Mavs Pull Off Upset vs. Clippers?

Injury updates, betting odds and how to watch the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers.

The Dallas Mavericks look to upset the Los Angeles Clippers in the first game of the best-of-7 playoff series, in L.A. with a tip-off time of 3:30 p.m. CT Saturday on ESPN. It is a rematch after the Clippers eliminated the Mavericks in six games in the first round of the 'bubble' playoffs last summer. 

READ MORE Mavs-Clippers Game 1 DONUTS: 'We Want This Matchup'

Dallas is looking to win its first playoff series since taking home the title in 2011.

FUN FACT: Dallas has now made the playoffs 17 times in the last 21 seasons. They enter the 2021 NBA Playoffs as the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference, which marks their highest seed since being seeded third during their championship season in 2011.

INJURY UPDATE: The Mavs list Maxi Kleber as "probable" and J.J. Redick "out" for Game 1

LUKA MAGIC: Entering his second postseason, Mavs star Luka Doncic looks to outdo his historic first playoff series that came against the L.A last season vs. the Clippers in the 'bubble' last year. In those six first round games, Doncic averaged 31 points, 9.8 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game. 

He set the record for the most points by a player in his playoff debut after registering 42 points. Doncic's buzzer-beater to beat Los Angeles in Game 4 was one of the defining images of the playoffs, not to mention his 38-9-9 stat line in the final game of the series.

COMING SOON: Game 2 will also be played in LA before the series shifts to American Airlines Center for Games 3 on and 4. 

Game 2- Tuesday, May 25 at LA Clippers- 9:30 p.m. CT- NBA TV

Game 3- Friday, May 28 at Dallas- 8:30 p.m. CT- ESPN

Game 4- Sunday, May 30 at Dallas- 8:30 p.m. CT- TNT

ODDS: The Mavs entered the day as 5-point underdogs to the Clippers, and the total over/under is 218.5 total points.

RECORDS: DALLAS MAVERICKS (42-30) @ LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (47-25)

WHEN: Saturday, May 22, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. CT

LOCATION: STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, CA

TV/RADIO: ESPN, BSSW, ESPN 103.3 FM, Univision 1270 AM

FINAL WORD: “When you’re part of an organization like the Dallas Mavericks and there’s a game scheduled, there’s pressure to win that game,” Coach Rick Carlisle said. “When you come work for Mark Cuban, you got to be somebody that loves pressure. I keep getting questions, 'is there pressure to advance?' Hell yeah, there’s pressure to advance. That’s what this is all about. But you got to love pressure.”