The Los Angeles Clippers were met with not-so-good news entering Game 4 of their heated first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks. Long a franchise that's been plagued by poor injury luck, the Clippers would, once again, proceed into a must-win situation without their best player in Kawhi Leonard, whose knee continues to bother him. But the Clippers thrived in an atmosphere of desperation, with James Harden and Paul George pulling out all the stops necessary to take a 116-111 victory to tie up the series as they head back home.

It looked like the Clippers were going to coast to a victory after it felt as though they couldn't miss in the early goings of Game 4. George, in particular, was a man on a mission. He scored 16 points in the first period while making plenty of shots with an insane degree of difficulty, as he carried LA on his back as they built a 31-point lead over the Mavericks. However, Kyrie Irving came alive and the Mavericks soon followed his lead, as they cut the aforementioned huge deficit and made it a close game heading into the final frame.

In the end, despite some masterful shot-making from Irving, the Clippers survived; James Harden turned back the clock in the fourth while Paul George hit one of the most difficult shots one would ever see on an NBA court. It was an all-out war between two teams, and all Harden could do is express his admiration over the superstars' shot-making of the highest order to end an instant classic Game 4.

“It was a show. Like elite, skilled, Hall of Fame basketball players going at it. And it's only so much you can do defensively, you know what I mean?” Harden said following the game, via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

This is why the Clippers traded for James Harden

For some time, it was unclear if the Clippers were going to pony up the assets it would take to pry James Harden away from the Philadelphia 76ers in a trade. Harden helped them out by depreciating his trade value, but even then, the Clippers were sacrificing part of their identity by trading away three switchable forwards to bring in someone whom many had already soured on.

Harden, however, has been nothing but a godsend for the Clippers. Despite the disappointing end to his tenure with the 76ers, he still had plenty of gas left in the tank, and he was raring to make it work with three future Hall of Famers by his side. It helped matters as well that he's playing for a new contract.

And with Kawhi Leonard out for two games in this latest Mavericks series as well as playing at less than 100 percent in Games 2 and 3, James Harden has come up huge for the Clippers. In Game 3, Harden was their most reliable scorer and playmaker, and in Game 4, Harden put the Mavericks' defense to the sword in the clutch over and over again.

With the Mavericks deciding to go small in the fourth, all Harden had to do was break down his defender one on one to prop up the Clippers' offense. Time and time again, that's what Harden did. Harden dribbled past the likes of Luka Doncic, PJ Washington, and Maxi Kleber, and once he got to the paint, he uncorked the floater he had been practicing prior to the game — and it went in at such a lethal rate.

Harden made six floaters in the fourth quarter of Game 4, and this has merely been a continuation of what a stellar series he has been having for the Clippers. Per NBA University on Twitter (X), Harden is averaging 26 points on a ridiculously efficient 73.1 true shooting percentage through four games against the Mavericks.

The floater clinic he put up in the fourth quarter may have to force Jason Kidd to bring out either Daniel Gafford or Dereck Lively II late in games, which would then hamper the Mavericks' spacing. But whatever the case ends up being, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, Marcus Morris, KJ Martin, and a few draft picks won't have this kind of an impact for the Clippers — which is why they make the trade for the Beard 10 times out of 10.

Playoff P saves the day

Paul George becomes a different animal in the playoffs whenever Kawhi Leonard is out. This latest masterclass against the Mavericks is further evidence; he tallied 33 points, six rebounds, and eight assists in Game 4, scoring 26 in the first half alone, as he came through on his promise following Game 3 that he would be better. (For reference, George is now averaging 29.2 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 10 playoff games for the Clippers sans Leonard.)

Of those 33 points, no three were more important than the one he made with a smidge under two minutes left in the game. The Clippers, on the previous possession, relinquished the lead to the Mavericks courtesy of an amazingly difficult Kyrie Irving layup against three defenders. Tyronn Lue then called a timeout, setting up a play for George to catch the ball underneath the hoop for a quick and easy two points to regain the lead.

Alas, not too many things went according to plan for the Clippers in the second half. George mishandled the catch, forcing him back to the perimeter with Derrick Jones Jr. draped all over him. George then put on a flurry of moves, with the Clippers star gaining enough separation to get a fall-away three-point attempt from the corner from behind the backboard off. Jones, however, kept in stride with George.

This was no issue for George; he swished home a triple to give the Clippers a 107-105 lead. And this time, they would hold onto the lead for good.

Paul George can be quite the enigma. When he's ice cold from the field, it tends to look ugly. But when his jumpshot is on point, he can be as good as anyone when it comes to making tough shots look effortless.

“Those are the plays or the moves you work on in the summertime,” George said. “Those are kind of the situations you envision … just to be in that moment and regardless of how the arena's going, the crowd, the pressure, it's kind of just feeling comfortable in those situations. I just felt comfortable.”

The Clippers will now have to play with a similar sense of urgency moving forward as they try to buy Kawhi Leonard more time to get back to 100 percent in hopes of mounting a strong push for the Larry O'Brien trophy.