The appointment was made at 3:30, to see if the Clippers would be able to react after two embarrassing setbacks at home. For that it was necessary to put the double efforts in attack, but also to raise the tone in defense, a defense in which Luka Doncic played for a week like dad in mom. But poetry is over, it’s time to recap.
Bertrand Renart’s favorite boxscore is right here
As in a dream, it’s one more masterclass from Tyronn Lue that we have to do. After declaring at the exit of Game 2 that the Mavs had been able to return their shots because they were playing outside and therefore without pressure, the Clippers coach decided to send Ivica Zubac back to the scaffold, in this case to defend on Luka Doncic with every defensive switch. Result of the races? Luka Doncic 8, Clippers 0. A few minutes later Dallas leads 20-6 then 30-11, the bombs hit the American Airlines Center, probably playing at home so no pressure, right? Tyronn. The minutes tick by and the specter of an all-time choke from Californians looms more and more, but fortunately for them and for the suspense the duo Paul George / Kawhi Leonard sets off and misses absolutely nothing. At the end of the first quarter Luka still dominates individually but the storm has passed since the Clippers are only led by 34-31. We have a game as the other would say, even if we still do not know who this famous “other” is.
The following ? A kind of All-Star Game, a three-way waltz that will punctuate the whole match. Dallas Luka side is incandescent and transforms the good two-thirds of the balls he touches in a basket, while for the men of the one whose name we will not mention… Kawhi Leonard and Paul George provide a max. Nicolas Batum also does the job in defense, Marcus Morris and biologist Reggie Jackson go there with their few shots, opposite Kristaps Porzingis seems very discreet this time, just like all of his teammates who, apart from a few strings by Maxi Kleber and Jalen Brunson, therefore rely solely on their Slovenian superstar to stay in touch. Each shot attempted is a returned shot, the score evolves like a Giannis stats sheet, and little by little the Clippers make the gap, not a mountain but a few points of gap are enough when nine out of ten shots come in from side to side. ‘other. From the tension between Terence Mann and Willie Cauley-Stein, from the tension between Luka Doncic and Pat Beverley, from the tension between Marcus Morris and the shadow of Marcus Morris, a real Playoffs match between two teams that can not be wrong and finally…. Clippers who will end up breathing very hard thanks to a victory as deserved as it is essential, as logical as it is obligatory.
118-108 final score, after managing the tempo once the false start had been fixed. Things are a little better for the Clippers, but the Clippers are still back to the wall. Things are a little better for the Clippers but the Clippers are still led, and Sunday night’s Game 4 in Dallas promises to be Slovenian-electric once again. You barely have 48 hours to get over it before moving on, and we immediately go to a press conference to listen to the next bullshit from… the other there.
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