LOS ANGELES – Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and the LA Clippers were the third best three-point shooting team in NBA history during the 2020-21 regular season. They struggled shooting for most of their first round series against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. When they needed a good shooting night the most, Marcus Morris and the rest of the team showed up in a big way for Game 7.

The Clippers finished the do-or-die game with 20 made three-pointers, an NBA record for made threes in a Game 7. Morris, who struggled shooting for the majority of the series, finished with 23 points, including a career playoff high seven made three-pointers on nine attempts.

“It meant a lot,” head coach Tyronn Lue said on Morris' big night. “We were getting shots all series we didn't make and we kept saying time and time again that we getting great looks versus their zone and versus their man. PG and Kawhi came attacking and we got open shots but we just didn't make them. We just told guys, trust your work, trust all the work you put in all season, throughout your career to get here to this point.

Marcus is second-leading three-point shooter in the league this year. So we knew he was going to make shots and we just didn't know when, but what a great time to make 20 threes in Game 7.”

Kawhi Leonard finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, and four steals. Luka Doncic poured in 46 points, seven rebounds, and 14 assists for the Mavs, but it wasn't enough to overcome Leonard, George, and the Clippers shooters.

After starting out 0-2, the Clippers won four of the next five games, including three on the road, to advance to the second round. Doncic's teammates, who started out the series shooting the lights out, came back down to earth. The Clippers and their defense made sure of it.

Leonard believes this series and the adversity his team faced throughout the seven games will only help them in the next round.

“I think just as we watched film and we seen that we were leaving each other on an island,” Kawhi Leonard explained. “Mainly on the defensive end, nobody's really selfish on the offensive end on this team. That's up to me and PG and play-makers on the offensive end not to be selfish because you feel like you've got to do it all. But these games are not won with just one or two great players; you need a whole 17 or 16 players that you have, guys on the bench clamoring, letting you know what's going on and you know the rotation players. You know, I think we had trust at the beginning, but we just had to dial in on what we were doing.”

Paul George had his second consecutive great all-around game, finishing with 22 points, six rebounds, 10 assists, and three steals. It was only the second playoff points-assists double-double of his career, but it helped the Clippers hold Dallas off in the minutes that Leonard sat.

“It was a great team win,” George said. “I think we showed great resilience. They pushed us. You know, they definitely got us war-ready. It's a great team we played. Unbelievable superstar in Luka. They pushed us. They played really well. They challenged us. But you know, we stuck in there. We hung in there. We played for one another. We played hard and you know, we continue on our season. Onto the next.”

Unlike previous games, a handful of role players shot the ball well, opening the floodgates for the Clippers' offense. Morris had seven threes, Reggie Jackson had three, Luke Kennard had three, and Terance Mann had a pair as well.

In Game 5, the Clippers let the game get away from them in the third quarter. This time around, it was the Clippers who flipped the script and scored 24 of the game's 26 points to close out the third, opening up a 19 point lead early in the fourth quarter.

Now, the Clippers fly to Utah to take on the Jazz on Tuesday afternoon. The Jazz have been off since eliminating the Memphis Grizzlies on June 2.