The Dallas Mavericks tied their first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday thanks to a jaw-dropping, buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Mavs star Luka Doncic. The second-year guard knocked down a 28-foot step-back shot in the dying seconds of the game to give the Mavs a 135-133 overtime win. As it turns out, this game-winner was eerily familiar for Clippers swingman Paul George.
Kirk Goldsberry of ESPN explains the rather ironic connection with George:
According to Basketball-Reference.com data, Doncic's winner is the second longest buzzer-beater in postseason history, trailing only Lillard's unforgettable 36-footer that sent Paul George and the Oklahoma City Thunder packing last year.
That't not exactly a correlation that George wants to be a part of, but the consolation for him here is that at least his team was not eliminated in the playoffs on Sunday. The Clippers may have lost, but they are still very much in the running to come out of this first-round series. This was not the case last season when Lillard's insane buzzer-beater literally ended the Oklahoma City Thunder's season.
Paul George has been on the receiving end of some criticism of late following a poor start to his playoff run with LA. It was more of the same on Sunday, with the 30-year-old finishing with just nine points on 3-of-14 shooting (1-of-7 from distance).
The good news for him is that there's nowhere to go but up from this point, and he will get his first chance of redemption when these two teams face off again on Tuesday in a pivotal Game 5 matchup against Luka Doncic and the Mavs.
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