Game 3 Recap Pod: Luka, Kawhi & 'The Kitchen Sink'

The Dallas Mavericks showed a lot of heart when Luka Doncic went down with a nasty-looking ankle injury, but despite an impressive late push, Kawhi Leonard was simply too much as the Los Angeles Clippers won Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead.

Sometimes it's just not your night. That's what the Dallas Mavericks experienced to the fullest on Friday night, as the team not only lost Game 3 of their first round series to the Los Angeles Clippers, 130-122, but superstar Luka Doncic to a nasty-looking ankle injury as well. The Mavs still showed a lot of heart after Doncic couldn't continue, but Kawhi Leonard's dominant performance was just too much to overcome.

READ MORE: Mavs Lose Game 3 To Clippers - And Lose Luka Doncic, Too

On this episode, the guys recap Game 3 from every angle. Despite the Mavs outscoring the Clippers 37-28 in the fourth quarter, it wasn't enough to overcome the second quarter, where the Clippers outscored the Mavs 45-31. Doncic became the first Maverick to ever record a triple-double in the playoffs with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, but his night was cut short due to his ankle injury. Doncic is scheduled to have an MRI on his ankle today, and his status for Game 4 in question. 

READ MORE: Mavs Luka Doncic Will Get MRI On Ankle, Insists 'It's Not That Bad'

As good as Porzingis was (34 points and 13 rebounds while shooting 61 percent from the field), and as much as the rest of Doncic's teammates tried to rally in his absence late in the game, Kawhi Leonard's dominant performance of 36 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, combined with his stellar defensive effort as well, was just too much to overcome.

"You play a team like the Clippers, you've got to be ready to throw the kitchen sink at them," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said of defending Leonard ... especially in Sunday's Game 4. "The layups are the ones that really get us, so we'll look at that. We'll look at everything."

All of that being said, the Mavs have nothing to hang their heads about, as they've competed with the Clippers in every single game of this series so far, something many people didn't think they would do, considering how the regular-season matchups between these two teams went. The future is bright for this up-and-coming Mavs team, and we're witnessing the growth with each passing game. Enjoy our detailed Game 3 recap, as well as our words of encouragement. Thanks for listening!

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Published
Dalton Trigg
DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg 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, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.