DALLAS, TEXAS — After winning in LA and taking the lead in the series, the Mavericks fell to the Clippers 104-97 tying the series and forcing a game 7.
The benefit of playing in front of the Dallas faithful was a major advantage for the Mavericks entering tonight’s game, but in this series oddly only the road team has won all 6 games.
The first quarter got off to a fast start and the Mavericks scored on their first two shot attempts which set a nice tone for what was to come. On the defensive end the first quarter consisted of a bunch of big time defensive stops that the Mavericks converted to points on the other end. The player who has made the difference in the last games of this series is Boban Marjonovic who has helped the Mavericks interior defense greatly and has been the anchor of the Mavericks zone defense.
Luka Doncic and Tim Hardaway Jr were the main contributors for the Mavericks offense scoring a combined 19 points on 58% shooting from the floor and was the inch the Mavericks needed to lead the Clippers at the end of the first quarter 28-26.
Throughout the series the Mavericks have had their shares of ebbs and flows on the offensive end and most of them have come right before the end of the first half. The Mavericks field goal percentage took a dip from 48% in the first quarter to 32% in the second quarter which gave the Clippers the edge they needed. Despite the dip, the Mavericks never lost control and maintained their positioning at the end of the half.
The highest scoring player for the Mavericks in the second was Luka Doncic with 7 points and Jalen Brunson and Josh Richardson contributed 9 total points off the bench. Dallas went into halftime trailing the Clippers 45-48, but the juice was still good enough to bleed into the second half.
Rick Carlisle went deep into his bag in the third quarter and it showed because of how efficient the Mavericks were. Dallas finished the first half shooting 40% from the field but finished the third quarter shooting 58% from the field. The Mavericks found rhythm at the right time and made good use of it. Tim Hardaway Jr has become a constant in this offense and scored 8 points in the third quarter, Dorian Finney-Smith, who has become a streaky shooter as of recent, got hot from three knocking down 3 three pointers in the quarter, and Willie Cauley-Stein has proven to be one of the energy players for the Mavericks dropping dimes and performing well on the defensive end.
The cultivation of their efficiency paid off and closed the quarter, leading the Clippers narrowly 77-73 just one quarter away from upsetting one of the “favorites” out of the west.
The fourth quarter was mostly like a game of tug of war in comparison. The more and more the Clippers tugged at the lead, the closer the flag came from crossing the mark. Kawhi Leonard was the kid at the back with the rope over his shoulder while everyone else was using their hands. Because of Leonard’s shooting performance the Clippers snatched the lead away and ran away with it to even the series 3-3 continuing the trend of away teams winning on the road.
The Mavericks’ energy for the most part was on par, they fell apart defensively at the end of the game and they played poorly offensively in the second quarter which proves that every second on the clock matters. The tables have turned, and the Clippers have the Mavericks right where they want them, but the question is will they defeat the Mavericks at home which they haven’t done all season? We will have to wait and see….
