Paul George, James Harden help Clippers even series with Mavs at 2-2 after blowing 31-point lead
DALLAS (AP) Paul George and James Harden are two-for-two without Kawhi Leonard in the Los Angeles Clippers' first-round playoff series against Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks.
The healthy LA stars can afford to shrug over the blown 31-point lead in Game 4.
George and Harden each scored 33 points while playing key fourth-quarter roles to help the Clippers hold off a huge rally fueled mostly by Irving for a 116-111 victory Sunday to even the first-round series at 2-2.
“We knew they would make a run,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “But also, we didn’t think we’d come into this building and be up 31 points either. So I told our team, just get the win, however you've got to get it. In the playoffs, it don’t matter how you win.”
Leonard was out with right knee inflammation again after missing the series opener, then playing in both Dallas victories. The Clippers aren't sure he'll make it back for the third Western Conference first-round meeting between these teams in the past five seasons.
The teams have split a pair on each other’s home court. Game 5 is Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
Irving scored 40 points for Dallas, including an acrobatic layup with 2:15 remaining for a 105-104 lead that was the first for the Mavericks since the middle of the first quarter.
Doncic had 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his fourth career playoff triple-double - all against the Clippers - while clearly struggling with right knee soreness that had him questionable until he warmed up before the game.
“It’s hurting, obviously,” said Doncic, who was 1 of 9 from 3-point range and not as effective on defense, a strength for him in this series. “But it shouldn’t be an excuse. Just came out sloppy. We’ve got to be way better than that.”
George scored 26 points in the first half, when the Clippers' lead reached 55-24 on a 3-pointer by Harden. The high-scoring stars combined to go 11 of 15 from long range as LA finished 18 of 29 overall.
After Irving's go-ahead layup, George hit his first basket of the second half, a fadeaway 3 from the corner. Irving missed a layup, and Harden converted a three-point play for a 110-105 lead. The 10-time All-Star scored 15 points in the fourth, hitting five of his well-known floaters that were mostly absent in the first three games.
This is part of why the Clippers added Harden in an early-season trade, giving them another option with a star such as Leonard sidelined.
“I’m blessed to be able to change it up and be a facilitator or a scorer,” Harden said. “My mindset coming to this team was doing whatever it takes to win and get to the end goal. Whether that's scoring or facilitating, I think it goes possession by possession and game by game.”
The Clippers tied a franchise playoff record for a quarter with eight 3s in the first, and George had three of them while scoring his playoff first-quarter high with 16 points to match the Mavericks and help build a 39-16 lead.
Harden’s 3 for the 31-point lead midway through the second quarter came not long after Doncic was called for a technical foul coming down the court when his miss dropped Dallas to 0-11 from long range..
It was almost a replay of Game 1, when the Leonard-less Clippers led by 26 at halftime and 29 early in the third quarter. Minus the massive rally, although Dallas did whittle the deficit in the second half of the opener.
“This is like Game 1,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “Early game, for whatever reason we just haven’t played well. We’ve gotten off to slow starts. That’s just something that we’ve got to talk about as a team. If there’s another afternoon game, we’ve got to make sure we’re ready to go from the jump and we can’t wait.”
Irving hit the next two 3s for Dallas, and the rally was on. He scored 16 in the second quarter and kept it going in the third, finishing those two quarters with 26 after a scoreless first. Dallas trailed by four entering the fourth quarter.
“We dug ourselves in a hole,” Irving said. “There's no time to complain about it or look to each other for any excuses. It was just time to get it going. Fell short, but this is a consistent thing in this series so far where Kawhi doesn't play and we're just dealing with a barrage of James Harden and Paul George getting off.”
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
12:00 | Ivica Zubac vs. Daniel Gafford (Paul George gains possession) | |||
11:41 | Ivica Zubac misses two point turnaround hook shot | |||
11:40 | Luka Doncic defensive rebound | |||
11:27 | P.J. Washington misses three point jump shot | |||
11:25 | Clippers defensive rebound | |||
11:09 | Paul George misses two point jump shot | |||
11:06 | Daniel Gafford defensive rebound | |||
10:41 | P.J. Washington turnover (bad pass) (Ivica Zubac steals) | |||
10:39 | Luka Doncic personal foul (Terance Mann draws the foul) | |||
10:31 | James Harden misses two point pullup jump shot | |||
10:27 | Daniel Gafford defensive rebound | |||
10:21 | Terance Mann personal foul (Daniel Gafford draws the foul) | |||
10:14 | Ivica Zubac shooting foul (Luka Doncic draws the foul) | |||
10:14 | +1 | Luka Doncic makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 0-1 | |
10:14 | +1 | Luka Doncic makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 0-2 | |
10:03 | Amir Coffey misses three point jump shot | |||
10:01 | Derrick Jones Jr. defensive rebound | |||
9:54 | Kyrie Irving turnover (out of bounds step) | |||
9:37 | Luka Doncic personal foul (Paul George draws the foul) | |||
9:28 | Amir Coffey misses two point turnaround jump shot | |||
9:26 | Derrick Jones Jr. defensive rebound | |||
9:10 | +2 | Luka Doncic makes two point stepback jump shot | 0-4 | |
8:58 | Derrick Jones Jr. personal foul (Paul George draws the foul) | |||
8:52 | +3 | Paul George makes three point jump shot (James Harden assists) | 3-4 | |
8:34 | +2 | Daniel Gafford makes two point cutting layup (Luka Doncic assists) | 3-6 | |
8:20 | +2 | Amir Coffey makes two point pullup jump shot (James Harden assists) | 5-6 | |
8:05 | Luka Doncic misses three point stepback jump shot | |||
8:03 | Daniel Gafford offensive rebound | |||
8:03 | James Harden shooting foul (Daniel Gafford draws the foul) | |||
8:03 | +1 | Daniel Gafford makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 5-7 | |
8:03 | +1 | Daniel Gafford makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 5-8 | |
7:47 | +2 | Ivica Zubac makes two point hook shot | 7-8 | |
7:33 | Kyrie Irving misses two point driving floating jump shot | |||
7:32 | Mavericks offensive rebound | |||
7:32 | James Harden personal foul (Loose ball) (Daniel Gafford draws the foul) | |||
7:17 | Luka Doncic turnover (back court violation) | |||
7:08 | +2 | Paul George makes two point driving layup (James Harden assists) | 9-8 | |
6:49 | Kyrie Irving misses three point pullup jump shot | |||
6:46 | Derrick Jones Jr. offensive rebound | |||
6:45 | Luka Doncic misses three point jump shot | |||
6:41 | Amir Coffey defensive rebound | |||
6:21 | Derrick Jones Jr. shooting foul (Terance Mann draws the foul) | |||
6:21 | Mavericks 60 second timeout | |||
6:21 | +1 | Terance Mann makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 10-8 | |
6:21 | +1 | Terance Mann makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 11-8 | |
6:03 | +2 | Luka Doncic makes two point fadeaway bank jump shot | 11-10 | |
5:38 | Paul George misses three point pullup jump shot | |||
5:35 | Josh Green defensive rebound | |||
5:24 | Luka Doncic misses two point fadeaway jump shot | |||
5:20 | Amir Coffey defensive rebound | |||
5:16 | Josh Green personal foul (James Harden draws the foul) | |||
5:16 | +1 | James Harden makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 12-10 | |
5:16 | +1 | James Harden makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 13-10 | |
4:55 | P.J. Washington misses three point jump shot | |||
4:51 | Terance Mann defensive rebound | |||
4:43 | +2 | Paul George makes two point driving floating jump shot | 15-10 | |
4:43 | Kyrie Irving shooting foul (Paul George draws the foul) | |||
4:43 | +1 | Paul George makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 16-10 | |
4:31 | Josh Green misses three point jump shot | |||
4:27 | Ivica Zubac defensive rebound | |||
4:21 | +3 | James Harden makes three point stepback jump shot | 19-10 | |
4:19 | Mavericks 60 second timeout | |||
3:57 | Dante Exum misses two point pullup jump shot | |||
3:54 | Clippers defensive rebound | |||
3:40 | Ivica Zubac offensive foul (Off the ball) (Maxi Kleber draws the foul) | |||
3:40 | Ivica Zubac turnover (offensive foul) | |||
3:32 | Kyrie Irving turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | |||
3:22 | James Harden turnover (bad pass) (Dereck Lively II steals) | |||
3:19 | Dereck Lively II turnover (bad pass) (Paul George steals) | |||
3:16 | +3 | Russell Westbrook makes three point jump shot (Paul George assists) | 22-10 | |
2:58 | Dante Exum misses three point jump shot | |||
2:55 | Paul George defensive rebound | |||
2:47 | +2 | Paul George makes two point pullup jump shot | 24-10 | |
2:38 | Mason Plumlee kicked ball violation | |||
2:25 | +2 | Luka Doncic makes two point driving floating bank jump shot | 24-12 | |
2:13 | Paul George misses three point jump shot | |||
2:09 | Kyrie Irving defensive rebound | |||
2:04 | Mason Plumlee shooting foul (Josh Green draws the foul) | |||
2:04 | +1 | Josh Green makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 24-13 | |
2:04 | +1 | Josh Green makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 24-14 | |
1:52 | +3 | Norman Powell makes three point pullup jump shot (Mason Plumlee assists) | 27-14 | |
1:38 | Mason Plumlee blocks Kyrie Irving's two point driving floating jump shot | |||
1:35 | Paul George defensive rebound | |||
1:31 | +3 | Paul George makes three point running jump shot (Terance Mann assists) | 30-14 | |
1:28 | Mavericks 60 second timeout | |||
1:16 | Josh Green misses two point driving layup | |||
1:14 | Paul George defensive rebound | |||
1:08 | +3 | Terance Mann makes three point running jump shot (Paul George assists) | 33-14 | |
0:41 | Mavericks turnover (shot clock violation) | |||
0:31 | +3 | Paul George makes three point stepback jump shot | 36-14 | |
0:16 | Mason Plumlee shooting foul (Luka Doncic draws the foul) | |||
0:16 | +1 | Luka Doncic makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 36-15 | |
0:16 | +1 | Luka Doncic makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 36-16 | |
0:00 | +3 | Norman Powell makes three point pullup jump shot (Paul George assists) | 39-16 | |
0:00 | End of period |
Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
11:43 | Luka Doncic misses three point stepback jump shot | |||
11:41 | Russell Westbrook defensive rebound | |||
11:35 | Russell Westbrook turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | |||
11:23 | Luka Doncic misses two point fadeaway jump shot | |||
11:21 | Mason Plumlee defensive rebound | |||
11:13 | Norman Powell misses three point jump shot | |||
11:09 | Luka Doncic defensive rebound | |||
10:54 | P.J. Washington misses two point driving floating jump shot | |||
10:52 | Russell Westbrook defensive rebound | |||
10:39 | Terance Mann misses three point stepback jump shot | |||
10:35 | Derrick Jones Jr. defensive rebound | |||
10:16 | +2 | P.J. Washington makes two point driving reverse layup | 39-18 | |
9:54 | +3 | James Harden makes three point stepback jump shot | 42-18 | |
9:37 | P.J. Washington misses three point jump shot | |||
9:34 | Mason Plumlee defensive rebound | |||
9:26 | Russell Westbrook misses two point fadeaway jump shot | |||
9:22 | Daniel Gafford defensive rebound | |||
9:19 | +2 | P.J. Washington makes two point running alley-oop dunk (Luka Doncic assists) | 42-20 | |
9:19 | Clippers 60 second timeout | |||
9:00 | +3 | James Harden makes three point pullup jump shot (Mason Plumlee assists) | 45-20 | |
8:38 | +2 | Derrick Jones Jr. makes two point driving layup (P.J. Washington assists) | 45-22 | |
8:22 | Norman Powell misses three point jump shot | |||
8:18 | Luka Doncic defensive rebound | |||
8:13 | Luka Doncic misses three point running pullup jump shot | |||
8:09 | James Harden defensive rebound | |||
7:54 | +2 | James Harden makes two point stepback jump shot | 47-22 | |
7:38 | Daniel Gafford turnover (bad pass) (Russell Westbrook steals) | |||
7:35 | P.J. Washington blocks Terance Mann's two point running layup | |||
7:34 | Clippers offensive rebound | |||
7:29 | +2 | Ivica Zubac makes two point floating jump shot (James Harden assists) | 49-22 | |
7:16 | +2 | Luka Doncic makes two point driving floating bank jump shot | 49-24 | |
6:50 | Clippers turnover (shot clock violation) | |||
6:37 | Kyrie Irving turnover (bad pass) (Paul George steals) | |||
6:31 | Dereck Lively II personal foul (Ivica Zubac draws the foul) | |||
6:23 | +2 | Ivica Zubac makes two point cutting dunk (James Harden assists) | 51-24 | |
6:02 | Luka Doncic misses three point stepback jump shot | |||
5:59 | James Harden defensive rebound | |||
5:59 | Luka Doncic technical foul | |||
5:59 | +1 | Paul George makes technical free throw 1 of 1 | 52-24 | |
5:43 | +3 | James Harden makes three point stepback jump shot | 55-24 | |
5:32 | +2 | Kyrie Irving makes two point pullup jump shot | 55-26 | |
5:32 | Terance Mann shooting foul (Kyrie Irving draws the foul) | |||
5:32 | +1 | Kyrie Irving makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 55-27 | |
5:16 | James Harden misses two point driving floating jump shot | |||
5:13 | Kyrie Irving defensive rebound | |||
5:06 | +3 | Kyrie Irving makes three point jump shot (Luka Doncic assists) | 55-30 | |
4:44 | Paul George turnover (lost ball) (Josh Green steals) | |||
4:40 | +3 | Kyrie Irving makes three point running pullup jump shot (Josh Green assists) | 55-33 | |
4:39 | Clippers 60 second timeout | |||
4:18 | +3 | Paul George makes three point jump shot (Terance Mann assists) | 58-33 | |
4:07 | +3 | Kyrie Irving makes three point jump shot (Luka Doncic assists) | 58-36 | |
3:52 | P.J. Washington blocks Paul George's two point driving layup | |||
3:50 | P.J. Washington defensive rebound | |||
3:46 | +2 | Dereck Lively II makes two point running dunk (Kyrie Irving assists) | 58-38 | |
3:36 | Kyrie Irving personal foul (James Harden draws the foul) | |||
3:16 | +3 | Paul George makes three point jump shot (Ivica Zubac assists) | 61-38 | |
2:55 | Luka Doncic misses two point driving finger roll layup | |||
2:53 | Dereck Lively II offensive rebound | |||
2:52 | +3 | P.J. Washington makes three point jump shot (Kyrie Irving assists) | 61-41 | |
2:33 | +2 | James Harden makes two point stepback jump shot | 63-41 | |
2:21 | +2 | Kyrie Irving makes two point pullup jump shot | 63-43 | |
1:59 | Paul George misses three point jump shot | |||
1:56 | Kyrie Irving defensive rebound | |||
1:46 | +2 | Dereck Lively II makes two point cutting layup (Kyrie Irving assists) | 63-45 | |
1:22 | Luka Doncic personal foul (James Harden draws the foul) | |||
1:13 | +3 | Paul George makes three point stepback jump shot | 66-45 | |
0:53 | +2 | Dereck Lively II makes two point alley-oop dunk (Luka Doncic assists) | 66-47 | |
0:36 | Norman Powell misses two point driving hook shot | |||
0:36 | Clippers offensive rebound | |||
0:36 | Kyrie Irving personal foul (Loose ball) (Russell Westbrook draws the foul) | |||
0:36 | Russell Westbrook misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
0:36 | Clippers offensive rebound | |||
0:36 | Russell Westbrook misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
0:34 | P.J. Washington defensive rebound | |||
0:32 | P.J. Washington turnover (bad pass) (Russell Westbrook steals) | |||
0:28 | Terance Mann misses two point driving layup | |||
0:27 | Mavericks defensive rebound | |||
0:27 | Russell Westbrook personal foul (Loose ball) (P.J. Washington draws the foul) | |||
0:06 | Russell Westbrook shooting foul (Kyrie Irving draws the foul) | |||
0:06 | +1 | Kyrie Irving makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 66-48 | |
0:06 |