LOS ANGELES: Kawhi Leonard tied his postseason career high with 45 points as the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Dallas Mavericks 104-97 Friday to stave off elimination and force game seven in their Western Conference NBA series.
The Clippers kept their season alive by winning in front of an almost full house at Dallas' American Airlines Center, marking the first time in NBA history that the road team has won the first six games in a best-of-seven series.
Game seven is Sunday at Staples Center arena in downtown Los Angeles where the Mavericks have won three games.
"I didn't want to go home," said Leonard of facing elimination in front of 18,300 Dallas fans in the first-round of the playoffs.
Leonard becomes just the fourth player in playoff history with 45 points and 70 percent shooting while facing elimination, joining LeBron James, Wilt Chamberlain and Canadian Jamal Murray.
"I had to insert myself into the game," Leonard said. "My teammates found me, I got some open looks, knocked them down and I just kept going from there."
Reggie Jackson added 25 and Paul George scored 20 points with 13 rebounds as the Clippers rallied from a seven-point deficit in the third quarter.
Luka Doncic scored 29 points with 11 assists for the Mavericks, who are seeking to avenge a first-round playoff loss to the Clippers last season when they were ousted in six games. Tim Hardaway added 23 points for Dallas.
"(Kawhi) destroyed us. He had a hell of a game. That's what he does," Doncic said of Leonard.
Doncic, who scored 42 points in a game five win, waited until late in the game on Friday to score a large portion of his points.
The Mavericks shot just 29 percent from the field in the final quarter and 41 percent overall.
Leonard carried the Clippers on his back, shooting 18-of-25 from the floor and draining five of nine threes.
The Clippers led 48-45 at the half but trailed 90-88 heading into the fourth. Los Angeles' Nicolas Batum made a dunk with just over five minutes left in the fourth to give them a 90-85 lead. That set the stage for Leonard to carry them to the finish.
Leonard drained back-to-back threes down the stretch as the Clippers seized a 99-90 lead with 100 seconds to go.
Doncic said the Mavericks' winning record at Staples Center has them confident about game seven.
"We all believe we can win game seven," he said.
Leonard scores 45 as Clippers win on road to force game seven
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Leonard scores 45 as Clippers win on road to force game seven
- Game seven is Sunday at Staples Center arena in downtown Los Angeles where the Mavericks have won three games.
Djokovic launches latest bid for record 25th Grand Slam title
- A former world number one, now ranked four, Djokovic is the undisputed king of Melbourne’s hard courts, having won a record 10 Australian Open crowns
MELBOURNE: A defiant Novak Djokovic launches his latest bid to win a record 25th Grand Slam crown while title contenders Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek are also in action at the Australian Open on Monday.
A bumper second day at Melbourne Park sees three-time finalist Daniil Medvedev, home hope Alex de Minaur and fourth seed Amanda Anisimova also enter the fray.
The 38-year-old Serbian great Djokovic faces Spain’s 71st-ranked Pedro Martinez on the final match of the day on Rod Laver Arena.
A former world number one, now ranked four, Djokovic is the undisputed king of Melbourne’s hard courts, having won a record 10 Australian Open crowns.
He has won 24 major titles, equal for the most ever with Australia’s Margaret Court, but a 25th has remained agonizingly out of reach.
With Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner now dominant, Djokovic’s last Grand Slam victory came at the US Open in 2023.
Despite age and injury catching up with him, Djokovic said on the eve of his favorite tournament: “I know that when I’m healthy, when I’m able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together on a given day, I feel like I can beat anybody.”
He added: “I like my chances always in any tournament, particularly here.”
Russia’s 11th-seeded Medvedev, runner-up in 2021, 2022 and 2024, warmed up for Melbourne with victory in Brisbane and believes he could be hard to beat.
“I know that when I’m playing good there are not that many players that can beat me easily or at all,” he said.
He meets Jesper de Jong of the Netherlands.
Australia’s De Minaur, the sixth seed, will have the Rod Laver Arena crowd roaring him on against 113th-ranked Mackenzie McDonald of the United States.
De Minaur has never gone beyond the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam.
Title contenders state case
The 21-year-old American Gauff opens proceedings on Rod Laver Arena against Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova.
The third seed won the US Open in 2023 and French Open last year, but her best performance at the first Grand Slam of the year is the semifinals.
Another firm contender for the women’s title is Poland’s Swiatek, the second seed, who has also never gone beyond the last four in Melbourne.
Like Alcaraz, Swiatek is pursuing a career Grand Slam of all four major titles, having triumphed previously at Wimbledon, the US Open and French Open.
Swiatek plays Chinese qualifier Yuan Yue while the American Anisimova, runner-up last year at Wimbledon and the US Open, meets Switzerland’s Simona Waltert.
The 18-year-old Russian talent Mirra Andreeva — fresh from winning her fourth title — takes on Croatia’s Donna Vekic.
Other notable names in action include the 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka, who was handed a wildcard aged 40 in his last Australian Open before retirement.
Top-10 seeds Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada and Jessica Pegula of the United States also feature on day two.
