In a hard fought game, the Los Angeles Clippers fall to a spunky Dallas Mavericks team in their loss.
The Dallas Mavericks fought hard in their win over the Los Angeles Clippers 114-110. The Mavericks as a whole out-willed the Clippers down the second half stretch to come out with a win.
Los Angeles held an early nine-point lead in the second quarter as they had the ball moving on offense for quality shots and hunkered down on defense. Once Dallas scored four straight points to get within five points.
JJ Barea was one player that the Clippers could barely contain. Off the bench early, Barea was speeding to the paint offensively and pesky on the defensive end. Barea finished the game with 24 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
The Clippers found themselves down eight heading into the fourth quarter. As the Clippers tried to make stops and get shots to connect, the Mavericks took advantage and played a faster pace to keep the Clippers off their game.
Los Angeles had the game within reach towards the end, but made some costly mistakes that lost them the game. The Clippers were within two as there were 27 seconds left on the clock, then Tobias Harris missed an open three-pointer.
The Clippers managed to get the offensive rebound, but Harris caught Dennis Smith on a mismatch to which Smith was active on the defense and blocked Harris’ shot attempt. Smith ended up being fouled and he made both shots in sealing the Mavericks’ win.
Let’s get Physical
Both teams have high physicality in games that lead to their success. In this matchup, both teams came to a head. Players were bumped and bruised with some chippiness throughout the game that left one player with a lost tooth.
Late in the third quarter, Smith and Patrick Beverley were tied up on a loose-ball play in which Beverley inadvertently hit Smith in the mouth which led to Smith having a tooth fall out. In another instance during the fourth quarter, Smith and Beverley went at it again on a loose ball.
Following that scramble, Beverley held the ball in his hand, then threw it into the stands and received a technical foul and an ejection from the game.
Barea also caught an inadvertent elbow to his nose from Avery Bradley in the final minute of the game. Barea ended up having a bloody nose but was fine after the game.
DeAndre Jordan Shines against Former Team
Los Angeles paid a visit to a former player, DeAndre Jordan and the Mavericks. Jordan gave the Clippers a show in his first matchup against the team that he spent 10 years with.
Jordan finished the game with 16 points and 23 rebounds in the Mavericks’ win.
Just as Jordan was a beast on the boards during his tenure with the Clippers, he showed them that was still his speciality. His season-high rebounds total helped the Mavericks win the rebounding battle 64-44.
Jordan’s free throw percentage with Dallas this season is higher than it has ever been during his time in Los Angeles. His free throws have been improving over the years and so far he has been doing well from the charity stripe.
This season Jordan is shooting 75 percent from the free throw line. In his final season with the Clippers, he shot 58 percent. From the free throw line in this matchup, Jordan shot 57.1 percent on 4-7 shots.
As a team, the Clippers shot just 44.2 percent from the field. It was not a great shooting game for Los Angeles, but the team managed to pick it up during different spots throughout the game. Only five players scored in double digits in the game.
Montrezl Harrell had a solid night for the Clippers as he was a factor in keeping the team in the game late. Harrell made plays on both ends of the floor to bring the Clippers within one towards the end of the fourth.
He finished the game with 23 points and 10 rebounds as he could not be stopped in the paint. Harrell did have some woes from the free throw line as he was 1-6 from the line.
Danilo Gallinari had 21 points, six rebounds, three assists, and one steal in the game. Gallinari was the only starter with a 20+ point game.
Lou Williams is still playing his game off the bench for Los Angeles as he scored 21 points on 8-16 field goals as he had three rebounds and eight assists.
This loss ended the Clippers four-game winning streak. The Clippers cannot rest too much as they travel to New Orleans for the backend of their back to back.
Los Angeles will now have to regroup as they play Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday evening at 5 p.m. PT.