Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks are thriving in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs against the LA Clippers. But it's not just Doncic who's doing the heavy lifting for the Mavs, who are now up 2-0 in the series. If not for Tim Hardaway Jr., the Mavs could have crumbled and embarrassed themselves late in Game 2, when the Clippers were making a last push to complete a comeback.

The Mavs had a nine-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter, and pretty much looked as though they had the win secured late in the game. But right before the final two-minute mark, Kawhi Leonard scored on a dunk then followed it up with a three-pointer on the next possession to bring down the Mavs' lead to just six. Terrance Mann would also get a two-pointer to cut the deficit to two. But Tim Hardaway Jr. was not going to let his huge offensive night be spoiled.

The second-generation NBA stud drained a 3-pointer at the 1:03 mark, which essentially killed LA's momentum and restore order in the side of the Mavs.

After the game, Hardaway talked about his dagger triple, as though he's never going to let a day go by without thinking about it.

Via Callie Caplan of Dallas Morning News:

The Mavs ended up with a 127-121 win, and THJ must really be so stoked about it, given the performance he put up. He finished with 28 points and six 3-pointers on eight attempts. So far in the series, he is making an unsustainable 64.7% shooting from deep.  Hardaway is flirting with regression here, but don't expect him to pass up on an open three in this series.