DALLAS: Paul George and James Harden are two-for-two without Kawhi Leonard in the Los Angeles Clippers’ first-round playoff series against Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks.
The healthy LA stars can afford to shrug over the blown 31-point lead in Game 4.
George and Harden each scored 33 points while playing key fourth-quarter roles to help the Clippers hold off a huge rally fueled mostly by Irving for a 116-111 victory Sunday to even the first-round series at 2-2.
“We knew they would make a run,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “But also, we didn’t think we’d come into this building and be up 31 points either. So I told our team, just get the win, however you’ve got to get it. In the playoffs, it don’t matter how you win.”
Leonard was out with right knee inflammation again after missing the series opener, then playing in both Dallas victories. The Clippers aren’t sure he’ll make it back for the third Western Conference first-round meeting between these teams in the past five seasons.
The teams have split a pair on each other’s home court. Game 5 is Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
Irving scored 40 points for Dallas, including an acrobatic layup with 2:15 remaining for a 105-104 lead that was the first for the Mavericks since the middle of the first quarter.
Doncic had 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his fourth career playoff triple-double — all against the Clippers — while clearly struggling with right knee soreness that had him questionable until he warmed up before the game.
“It’s hurting, obviously,” said Doncic, who was 1 of 9 from 3-point range and not as effective on defense, a strength for him in this series. “But it shouldn’t be an excuse. Just came out sloppy. We’ve got to be way better than that.”
George scored 26 points in the first half, when the Clippers’ lead reached 55-24 on a 3-pointer by Harden. The high-scoring stars combined to go 11 of 15 from long range as LA finished 18 of 29 overall.
After Irving’s go-ahead layup, George hit his first basket of the second half, a fadeaway 3 from the corner. Irving missed a layup, and Harden converted a three-point play for a 110-105 lead. The 10-time All-Star scored 15 points in the fourth, hitting five of his well-known floaters that were mostly absent in the first three games.
This is part of why the Clippers added Harden in an early-season trade, giving them another option with a star such as Leonard sidelined.
“I’m blessed to be able to change it up and be a facilitator or a scorer,” Harden said. “My mindset coming to this team was doing whatever it takes to win and get to the end goal. Whether that’s scoring or facilitating, I think it goes possession by possession and game by game.”
The Clippers tied a franchise playoff record for a quarter with eight 3s in the first, and George had three of them while scoring his playoff first-quarter high with 16 points to match the Mavericks and help build a 39-16 lead.
Harden’s 3 for the 31-point lead midway through the second quarter came not long after Doncic was called for a technical foul coming down the court when his miss dropped Dallas to 0-11 from long range..
It was almost a replay of Game 1, when the Leonard-less Clippers led by 26 at halftime and 29 early in the third quarter. Minus the massive rally, although Dallas did whittle the deficit in the second half of the opener.
“This is like Game 1,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “Early game, for whatever reason we just haven’t played well. We’ve gotten off to slow starts. That’s just something that we’ve got to talk about as a team. If there’s another afternoon game, we’ve got to make sure we’re ready to go from the jump and we can’t wait.”
Irving hit the next two 3s for Dallas, and the rally was on. He scored 16 in the second quarter and kept it going in the third, finishing those two quarters with 26 after a scoreless first. Dallas trailed by four entering the fourth quarter.
“We dug ourselves in a hole,” Irving said. “There’s no time to complain about it or look to each other for any excuses. It was just time to get it going. Fell short, but this is a consistent thing in this series so far where Kawhi doesn’t play and we’re just dealing with a barrage of James Harden and Paul George getting off.”
Paul George, James Harden help Clippers even series with Mavs at 2-2 after blowing 31-point lead
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Paul George, James Harden help Clippers even series with Mavs at 2-2 after blowing 31-point lead
Warriorz beat Knight Riders on final delivery in low-scoring thriller to remain in ILT20 playoff hunt
- Chasing 135, and needing 12 from the final over, Sharjah claim victory thanks largely to unbeaten 42 from James Rew and a supporting knock of 28 by Sikandar Raza
ABU DHABI: Sharjah Warriorz held their nerve in a tense, low-scoring encounter to secure a dramatic four-wicket victory over Abu Dhabi Knight Riders at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Monday, a win that keeps their International League T20 playoff hopes alive.
Chasing just 135 for victory, the Warriorz reached the target off the final ball, thanks in large part to a composed, unbeaten 42 from James Rew and a crucial supporting knock of 28 from Sikandar Raza.
Sharjah are still at the foot of the table in sixth place but the victory left them on six points with two matches remaining, level with the Knight Riders, who have played one game more, and Gulf Giants. With Dubai Capitals just two points ahead in third place, it sets up a tight race for the remaining playoff places.
A blistering opening bowling spell from Taskin Ahmed and Wasim Akram put the Knight Riders on the back foot from the start after they were asked to bat first. The pair ripped through the top order to leave Abu Dhabi reeling on 10/4 inside four overs.
Ahmed struck in the opening over to dismiss Phil Salt before Akram removed Brandon McMullen LBW. Ahmed then claimed the wicket of Alex Hales, and Akram followed it up with a historic wicket maiden in the fourth over, trapping Liam Livingstone for a duck. It was the first wicket maiden by a UAE player in the four-season history of the competition.
Sherfane Rutherford attempted to stabilize the innings with a counterattacking 44 off 36 balls, and Alishan Sharafu added 19, but scoring remained difficult as the Warriorz bowlers tightened their grip once again. Raza broke Rutherford and Sharafu’s 38-run stand, and despite a late partnership of 52 between Rutherford and Unmukt Chand, who contributed 24, the Knight Riders were restricted to a total of 134/9. Adil Rashid removed both Jason Holder and Andre Russell at the death, finishing the day with three wickets.
The Warriorz chase began in shaky fashion as they lost Johnson Charles and Monank Patel early, before Tom Kohler-Cadmore steadied the innings with a patient 30. Sunil Narine and Olly Stone applied pressure through the middle overs, however, leaving Sharjah on 58/3 at the halfway stage.
Narine eventually removed Kohler-Cadmore, but Raza and Rew then combined in a vital 57-run partnership to keep the chase on track. The latter found the boundary at key moments and rotated the strike calmly as the equation tightened.
Holder bowled a superb penultimate over to leave the Warriorz requiring 12 from the final six balls but Rew and Rashid held their nerve to guide the Warriorz to the winning run on the last delivery.
Player of the match Rashid praised his teammates for their composure in the closing stages: “It was pleasing to contribute in a situation where things could easily have gone the other way, especially bowling the 18th and 20th overs.
“Having played against Jason and Andre for a long time does help, but thankfully the plans came off.”
Holder, the Knight Riders captain, admitted his side fell short with the bat.
“We didn’t put enough runs on the board, although full credit goes to our bowlers for the way they fought and took the game deep,” he said.
“We needed to keep wickets intact during the powerplay, and if one or two moments had gone our way, the momentum could have shifted.”
