LOS ANGELES — Led by Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Marcus Morris, the Los Angeles Clippers took Game 1 from the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night.
In the 118-110 victory, Leonard led the way for the Clippers with 29 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and three steals on 11-of-21 shooting from the field. Paul George poured in 27 points and three assists on 10-of-22 shooting. LA's star duo was aided in the scoring department by Morris' 19 points, six rebounds, and a playoff career-high four steals.
The Clippers overcame a monumental performance from Luka Doncic, who recorded an NBA record 42 points in his playoff debut. He, did, however, struggle taking care of the ball, giving it away a career-high 11 times in the contest.
“He's great,” Kawhi Leonard said. “He's very poised. He's very trusted on that team. He can get to his spots, find his teammates, gets them easy baskets. He makes tough baskets well. He's a great player.”
“I think we just got to continue to just tighten up screws,” Paul George added. “Give credit where credit was due. He played great tonight. But we got to tighten up some things to make it tougher. I thought as good as he played tonight, we could have limited some of the stuff. That's what we got to work on.”
This game was an incredible game of runs. It started out with the Clippers leading 18-2 in the opening minutes. It was followed by a massive 48-18 run by Dallas to take a 14-point lead. LA then responded with a 19-7 run to close the first half out.
After surviving through one of their worst offensive stretches of the season in that first half, the Clippers found their rhythm again late in the half to make the margin manageable.
“We just stayed in it,” Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said. “I thought we got up so quick, our guys, I guess they thought Dallas was just going to go away. They're just too good offensively. Then from that point on, for Dallas to get the lead, we just made undisciplined play after undisciplined play defensively. Then I thought offensively we start taking quick shots. We thought the game was going to be easy. It's probably a great lesson for us, you know. Doesn't matter what the lead is or who you're playing, you're in the playoffs, it's going to be hard. I think our guys are going to understand that from this point forward.”
Doncic needed to carry the Mavs offensively, especially when Kristaps Porzingis was ejected from the game after picking up his second technical foul. Scoring or assisting on 30 of Dallas' 41 second-half points, the reigning Rookie of the Year gave the second-seeded Clippers a good scare, but it wasn't enough to take them down.
“He's amazing,” Rivers continued. “I thought we guarded him pretty well, forced him into a lot of tough shots, forced him into 11 turnovers.
“I thought what we did poorly, what shows his greatness, is every time we made a mistake on the weak side, he found that guy and that guy made a shot. I didn't mind his basket attacks. I didn't mind his 3s. I mind our help so he could get the assists. I'll give up the points to him, I just don't want to give up the points and the assists. I think we allowed him to have both tonight.”
So far this season, the Clippers have shown the ability to win games in multiple ways. They can beat teams offensively even if the defense isn't clicking on all cylinders. They can also get stops and win a game on the defensive end when the offensive isn't running smoothly. And the Clippers can even win a game playing poorly on both ends and absolutely grinding out a win very similar to the way they did so on Monday night.
“I think that’s why this team was built,” Marcus Morris said of the different ways the Clippers can win. “A lot of physical guys, a lot of versatile guys, a lot of energy, a lot of effort, and that’s what this team was built on. Versatility, being able to move five guys in and out in all different positions and play small ball, go big, whatever we got to adjust to we got the guys to do it and this was a solid team right here. We’re going to keep chipping away, keep chipping away, and we’re going to continue to get better.”
George echoed sentiments similar to Morris, saying everybody is on the same page in terms of the overall goal: Winning. No matter what.
“I think we just take pride in that word. That's what it comes down to. We got a team that's willing to do any and everything. You go down the list, everybody is all in. We put a huge emphasis on that word, ‘win,' and pride ourselves on that word.”
Monday night marked the first playoff game for both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George together, and it showed. On more than a handful of possessions, especially in the fourth quarter, the Clippers got by thanks to some tremendous one-on-one play from Leonard and George.
The duo, which has only played in 38 games together this season, is still trying to find a balance between attacking and getting the other involved. Rivers also did something we haven't seen all season, staggering his two superstars to make sure at least one of them is on the court at all times.
“It was great,” Paul George said of his first postseason play with Kawhi Leonard. “I think we both picked each other up. We both helped each other. Kawhi, there's a reason he's been who he is in this league.
“He's an unbelievable leader. He picked us up on occasions. I've been the guy. I've been the guy on teams I've been on, been co-being the guy on teams I've been on. I know how it is. I don't ever want to have him believe that the pressure is all on him. I want to be able to uplift him, help him, and vice versa.”
The Clippers will take on the Mavs in Game 2 of the Western Conference's first round on Wednesday night.
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