DONČIĆ gets well, Mavericks smashed CLIPPERS for 3-2 series lead… See more
LOS ANGELES – Luka Dončić might be fighting a knee sprain and an illness.
But that was nothing compared to the world of hurt he and the Mavericks put on the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.
There was no denying the magnitude of Game 5 in the most hotly contested series of the first round of the NBA playoffs.
And so, the Mavericks are up 3-2 in the series and teams in that position in a best-of-seven series move on to the next round 84 percent of the time (288-55).
But the Mavericks need only to remember three years ago when they won Game 5 in LA against the Clippers to go up 3-2 and then proceeded to lose Games 6 and 7, and the series.
So he made an effort to attack the paint, get as many close-range shots as he could and, most importantly, kick out a lot of passes, particularly to Maxi Kleber, for three-pointers. Kleber hit five of them for his 15 points.
“With the knee and not feeling well, I thought he did an incredible job leading the group,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Being able to get downhill, being able to score and finding guys – he did a great job finding Maxi for threes.”
The Mavericks eased out to a 10-point halftime lead with Kleber and Dončić paving the way.
