By Josh Robbins, Joe Vardon, Tim Cato and Law Murray
The Dallas Mavericks defeated the LA Clippers 114-101 on Friday night to advance to the Western Conference semifinals.
Luka Dončić led Dallas in the first half with his elite playmaking — finishing with 13 assists — while co-star Kyrie Irving ignited American Airlines Arena with his dazzling scoring in the second half, finishing with a game-high 30 points and five 3-pointers.
No Clippers starter scored more than 18 points, and James Harden and Paul George combined to shoot 11 of 34 from the field and 2 of 16 from 3 in the elimination game.
Mavericks 114, Clippers 101
Series: 4-2, Mavericks advance
Dallas rides elite defense into next round
The Mavericks are heading to the conference semifinals for the second time in three seasons. The team has reached this point with an elite defense, one that the team has steadily been building its roster to create and to provide the stinginess needed to accentuate its two stars. In Friday’s Game 6, Dallas closed it out with much of that defense showing even as the team’s franchise player, Dončić, struggled with his shot.
Dončić finished with 28 points on just 9-of-26 shooting and a single made shot out of the 10 he attempted behind the 3-point line. But that’s why Dallas has two stars, and Irving scored 30 to help turn Dallas’ series-clinching win into one that felt comfortably in hand for the entire second half.
There are three questions for Dallas’ upcoming series against the Oklahoma City Thunder that begins on Tuesday. First, Dallas has more size ever since acquiring Daniel Gafford, who made his Mavericks debut off the bench against the Thunder in February to the tune of 19 points and nine rebounds. Rookie center Dereck Lively II didn’t play in that game, but both now make up an enormous two-headed center rotation, the type of physical size that has been the Thunder’s main weakness all season. Can Dallas earn an advantage with second chance points and offensive rebounds?
Second, Oklahoma City forced the league’s most turnovers in the regular season while Dallas’ offense had the league’s fourth-lowest rate. Who wins that battle?
And third, Dončić struggled with his shot all series and wasn’t quite the MVP-level player even as he made up for it with outstanding defensive effort. But surely, at some point, he’ll hit some shots against the Thunder, right? — Tim Cato, Mavericks beat writer
Lineup changes predicted Clippers disaster
Both of the Clippers’ wins in this series came with Amir Coffey starting in place of Kawhi Leonard. With Leonard unable to play well or at all due to right knee inflammation, the starting spot at forward opposite All-Star George was the wild card in the starting five.
Game 5 was a turning point of sorts. Coffey struggled in a start, scoring only 3 points on 1 of 6 field goals. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue pulled him early in the third quarter. Later in the third quarter, he introduced P.J. Tucker to the series after four DNP-CDs.
Tucker was arguably the least effective player with any expectations this season. The Clippers were outscored by 1.9 points per game with Tucker on the floor. The only players with a worse plus-minus for the Clippers this season were KJ Martin (two games played), Kobe Brown (rookie), Xavier Moon (two-way contract), and Brandon Boston Jr. (seldom-used). The Clippers were 11-17 when Tucker played this season.
But Lue changed up the starting lineup prior to Game 6. He did not reveal who pregame, but instead of going with Norman Powell to help the offense or Russell Westbrook to help the defense and perhaps get George and Harden to score first, Lue chose Tucker.
It was an immediate and predictable disaster. The lack of collective athleticism was obvious right away, as the Clippers allowed offensive rebound after offensive rebound and got killed in the possession battle.
By time Tucker subbed out for the first time, the Clippers were down 20-10 with 4:45 left in the first quarter. With Tucker on the bench the rest of the first half, the Clippers were able to tie the game at 52 for halftime. Powell led a 19-6 run with the starters in the last 6:11 of the second quarter.
But Tucker was back out there to start the second half. It took 108 seconds for Dallas to reel off an 8-0 run to begin the third quarter, featuring fast breaks and the first 3s of the game for the previously inefficient Dončić and previously invisible Irving. Tucker did not leave the floor in the third quarter until the 4:25 mark, with the Clippers down 74-63 despite being tied at half. Dallas had outscored the Clippers by 21 points in Tucker’s minutes through three quarters.
Unfortunately for the Clippers, Tucker ended the game with 8 points, 2 rebounds, 3 turnovers and 5 fouls, the worst being a 4-point play by Irving. The Clippers didn’t play well enough after halftime with Tucker on or off the floor, but being in early holes to begin both halves doomed the Clippers and expedited the end of their season. — Law Murray, Clippers beat writer
Series: 3-3
Magic supersize their lineup
With Gary Harris out, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley elected in Game 6 to start the same big lineup that he employed to finish Game 5: Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner, Jonathan Isaac, Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr.
Everyone except for Suggs is at least 6-foot-10.
Why did Mosley choose that group? It put his two best defenders, Suggs and Isaac, on the floor simultaneously. It also kept the Magic’s usual second unit of Cole Anthony, Markelle Fultz, Joe Ingles, Isaac and Mo Wagner intact (because Isaac was subbed out midway through the first quarter and subbed back in to begin the second quarter). And it also enabled Mosley not to rely on rookie Anthony Black or second-year swingman Caleb Houstan, who, while promising youngsters, haven’t played meaningful minutes in weeks.
Did it work? It was probably a mixed bag. Although Orlando “won” the first quarter for the first time all series, outscoring Cleveland 29-25, the same starting lineup was on the floor to open the third quarter when Cleveland opened with a 13-2 run.
Defensively, the super tall lineup almost certainly had a factor in holding the Cavs to 7-of-28 shooting from 3-point range. But the Cavs also outscored the Magic 66-38 points in the paint.
Mosley made a significant adjustment down the stretch in the fourth quarter, going with Anthony instead of Isaac for the vast majority of the time. Anthony, who had been slumping this series, played a big role, securing an offensive rebound and following immediately with a layup to extend Orlando’s lead to 96-91.
The ability to adjust on the fly is one of Mosley’s biggest strengths.
On Friday, it paid off big time.
As Game 7 approaches Sunday, it’s certain Mosley will continue to trust his gut and adjust on the fly if needed.
It’s gotten his team this far.
The Magic are one victory away from reaching the second round. — Josh Robbins, senior NBA writer
Cavaliers’ non-Lebron playoff drought lives on
The Cavaliers still haven’t won a playoff series since 1993 without LeBron James wearing their jersey.
They came darned close Friday night, and Donovan Mitchell did his best LeBron impression — 50 points on 36 shots in 42 minutes. It would have been a signature performance of Mitchell’s career, regardless of team, had Cleveland won Game 6 and therefore the series. The number of players coach J.B. Bickerstaff can trust is dwindling with each passing game, and a hint of fatigue seemed to overcome the Cavs in the waning moments — Mitchell’s turnover with 56 seconds left, out of a timeout, with Cleveland trailing 98-93 a prime example. The turnover was one of eight for Cleveland in the fourth quarter.
Mitchell and Darius Garland (21 points in 43 minutes) both played the entire fourth quarter and most of the second half. Caris LeVert, meanwhile, didn’t play at all after halftime. It’s not a criticism; Bickerstaff had one game he had to win, had a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, and went with the players he felt could bring it home. Mitchell scored all 18 of the Cavs’ points in the final frame.
GO DEEPER
Donovan Mitchell, despite loss, leads Cavaliers toward franchise-altering Game 7
In your wildest dreams you wouldn’t have imagined Marcus Morris Sr. not only on the floor in crunch time — but at the start of the game, too. With Jarrett Allen again unable to play because of a rib injury, Bickerstaff countered with Morris instead of Isaac Okoro, who started in that spot in Game 5. The idea was likely to mitigate some of Orlando’s size, but the extra spacing Cleveland enjoyed in Game 5 was not there Friday.
Morris finished with 2 points on 1-of-7 shooting. Evan Mobley, long labeled the future of the franchise, had 3 points and 7 rebounds.
Overall, the Cavs couldn’t make a 3. They shoot any better than the 7-of-28 they turned in for Game 6, and it probably would have been on to Boston. Then again, Cleveland enjoyed an unbelievable 66-38 advantage in paint scoring, despite the size disadvantage.
After the game, Mitchell and Bickerstaff pointed out the stark free throw discrepancy in Game 6, as Orlando shot 26 times at the line compared to Cleveland’s 10. Mitchell made clear it wasn’t the only reason they lost, but he said to score 66 points in the paint and get 10 free throws is “crazy.”
Game 7, phew boy, will be on us quickly. There is so much at stake for the Cavs and the individuals inside that locker room. Futures are on the line. They’ll have to sleep on that notion, as well as this: Mitchell played like the best version of himself, and it wasn’t enough in a closeout game.
It’s a heavy thought. — Joe Vardon, senior NBA writer
Required reading
(Photo: Glenn James / NBAE via Getty Images)
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