Just two nights later, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks met again, but this time with a different end result. Tyronn Lue made the necessary adjustments and the Clippers left Dallas with the victory (97-99). A spectacular fourth quarter by Luka Doncic was not enough for the Mavs to achieve their fifth consecutive win.
The game in the paint was one of the keys to understanding the Clippers’ victory. From the first quarter, the Angelenos surpassed their rival in points in the area (54-34). Also, the defensive game plan for Doncic worked well, at least for three quarters. The defensive involvement of the entire team forced up to seven losses for the Slovenian, becoming a well-used resource.
On offense, the Clippers’ choral game managed to involve many different players. Reggie Jackson, Marcus Morris and Terance Mann each reached 20 points, all of them with good shooting percentages. The latter got his highest scoring mark of the season. His new role as starter allowed Mann to reach 21 points and 9 rebounds.
For the Mavericks, a spectacular last quarter by Doncic, scoring 23 of the team’s 30 points in this period, was not enough to turn the game around. The Slovenian reached 45 points, but to do so he had to shoot more than 30 times. Luka, who also had 15 rebounds and 8 assists, was left without enough magic to get the victory.
A growing rivalry
During the match there were tense moments between Luka Doncic and Terance Mann. Both players know each other perfectly and their quarrels had already been seen even in games from previous seasons. After the meeting, Mann wanted to play down the issue. “It’s game stuff. Luka is a competitor. We even have the same agent, ”said the Clippers player.
For his part, the Slovenian was irritated by the referee’s performance after they were pointed out a double technique. «The easiest thing that the referees can do is to whistle double techniques and I do not agree. A player is provoking me the whole game, the first time I respond and the referees simply call double technicals. I don’t think I deserve it,” Doncic said.
(Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
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