LOS ANGELES — Without Patrick Beverley, the Los Angeles Clippers dropped Game 2 to the Dallas Mavericks in stunning fashion on Wednesday night, 127-114. Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and co. struggled to gain any rhythm offensively while unable to offer any resistance on the defensive end.
Leonard led the way in scoring again for LA, willing his way to 35 points and 10 rebounds on 10-of-21 shooting from the field. George struggled with foul trouble, and it led to a scoreless first half. He did finish with 14 points and 10 rebounds, but he shot just 4-of-17 from the field and 2-of-10 from beyond the arc.
Luka Doncic also dealt with foul trouble, playing just 28 minutes, but he finished with 28 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. The Mavs, who led by as many as 18 points in the contest, saw six players reach double figures. While Kristaps Porzingis poured in 23 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 17, it was the Mavs' second unit that ended up being the difference makers. Trey Burke (16 points, 7-of-11 shooting), Seth Curry (15 points, 6-of-9 shooting), and Boban Marjanovic (13 points, 6-of-8 shooting) combined for 44 points on 19-of-28 shooting from the field.
“Just give Dallas credit, they played hard tonight,” Kawhi Leonard said after the game. “They're the reason why we didn't come back.They knocked down big shots. When we had our runs, got to the free-throw line. That's what it was, them playing good defense.”
“I thought every time we were putting possessions together, we fouled,” Paul George added. “We sent them to the line. I thought that really was the game. We got great stretches where we were playing good, cutting the lead. Then the fouling. We fouled, slowed the game down. It was in their favor at that point.”
The final foul count saw 29 fouls called for each team, with the Clippers shooting just two more free throws in the game, but it was more the timing of the Clippers' fouls. Anytime LA tried to make a run, Dallas would get to the line to push out the lead again. If it wasn't from the free-throw line, it was a Clippers defender likely getting beat one-on-one and allowing a Mavs bucket around the rim.
Following their Game 1 win, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers called his team “undisciplined defensively” on a lot of plays. It got a whole lot worse in Game 2. Rivers pointed to the one-on-one defense as the major problem in the game.
“Really more just individual defense than pick-and-roll defense,” a frustrated Rivers said postgame. “I just thought they got matchups. By the end of the game, everybody was a matchup. They were just looking us in the eye, taking us off the dribble, playing draw and kick basketball. They played together, moved the ball.
“I thought that stood out. I think at halftime we had seven assists. I think our starters had two assists at halftime. I think we ended up with four assists from our starters. That's not how we've played all year. If we play like that, we can't win.”
The Clippers are scheduled to practice and go through a film session on Thursday afternoon before Game 3 Friday night. Although he hadn't watched the film yet, Leonard agreed a lot of the Mavs' baskets came off terrible individual defense.
“I got to look at the film. It was a lot of one-on-one, just getting by us, getting easy layups. I feel no weak side there. Just not being too disciplined in those aspects of those one-on-one situations. Fouling jump shooters too much, letting them get by on easy drives. That's what I feel. [We'll] watch film to see what happened.”
The closest the Clippers got after the Mavs' 15-2 start was 85-83 with 2:28 left in the third quarter. Instead of finishing out strong, LA allowed a 13-2 run over the rest of the quarter. The Mavs' lead ballooned to 13, and they never looked back.
“I think we made a lot of small mistakes,” Lou Williams said after the game. “Just miscommunications, not talking in situations where we were supposed to be communicating. Just not giving ourselves an opportunity. When you lose a game by 10 or 12 points, the small mistakes start to add up. That's what happened tonight.”
Patrick Beverley was ruled out of Game 2 a few hours before tipoff due to a left calf strain. The guard previously missed the final five seeding games before suiting up and playing in Game 1. Doc Rivers said he has no idea when Beverley will be able to return.
“I don’t have any sense [of when he'll return]. Obviously, it’s something that has lingered, but I have no sense whether he plays next game or this is one of those things that takes a week or so. I just don’t know.”
Despite the missed open shots, the poor defensive breakdowns, and playing without Beverley, the Clippers still had a chance to win. They'd have needed a much better effort from Paul George, however, than the mediocre one he provided Wednesday. George picked up three fouls in the first 11 minutes of the game. He ended up scoreless in the first half and out of rhythm for the second half. Although it kept him off the floor for some time, he was able to play a total of 32 minutes.
“It was tough. It's always tough when you pick up cheap fouls trying to find a rhythm, trying to give your team a boost. It is what it is. I tried to play out of it. Offensively it was a struggle tonight for me.”
The Clippers and Mavs move on to Game 3, scheduled for 6 p.m. PT on Friday night tied at one game apiece. Just like the Mavs came out firing in Game 2, you can be sure the Clippers won't hold back to start Friday night's game.
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