Mavs beat Clippers, advance to West semis

Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić combined for 58 points Friday night and the Mavs won their first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers with a 114-101 gut-check victory before a sellout crowd of 20,625 at American Airlines Center. With the win, the Mavs emerged victorious in this best-of-seven series, 4-2, and will now start a best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals series at the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.

It turned into a particularly glorious night for Irving, who scored 28 of his 30 points in the second half and also took on the tough challenge of guarding James Harden. It was Irving's offense in the second half that fueled the Mavs off the runway and lifted them into the next round against the Thunder after the game was knotted at 52 apiece at intermission.

Irving scored a quick bucket on a fast break layup to open the second half, which is when the Mavs took control of the game. Dončić and Irving then followed with three-pointers, and suddenly the Mavs had a 60-52 lead and the Clippers were forced to call a timeout.

"I don't think much needed to be said in general (at halftime), just because it was a tie ballgame, so we were playing pretty well,' Irving said. "Everybody touched the basketball pretty often.

"I didn't get as many looks as I probably am used to getting (in the first half), or I would have wanted. I was just following the flow of the game and coming out of halftime just being ready to use my conditioning to the best of my ability and beat them up and down the court and continue to play some tough defense and get some easy ones for my teammates."

Things got progressively worse for the Clippers in the third quarter, as Daniel Gafford played bully-ball and scored over Ivica Zubac. Gafford completed the three-point play, then added a dunk via an offensive rebound.

Dončić worked his way inside for a bucket, and Irving followed with a basket from downtown and the Mavs found themselves clutching a 72-58 lead with 5:28 to go in the third quarter. The floodgates continued to open as Dereck Lively II scored inside, Derrick Jones Jr. slammed home a dunk off a pass from Dončić, and Irving wiggled free from P.J. Tucker and scored, and completed the three-point play after he was fouled.

That gave the Mavs an insurmountable 106-82 lead and punched their ticket to a date with OKC.

"I was laughing with the guys after I hit that shot," said Irving, who was 11-of-19 from the field, including 5-of-9 on three-pointers. "I don't even think I watched it go in fully once it left my hands. I got fouled, I fell to the floor, then I was on the floor looking and kind of squinting and seeing if it went in, and just seeing my teammates' reaction and picking me up. That was the best part of it.

"We knew that was kind of like the dagger of the series. We were already up, but just those exciting plays, momentum shifters mean a great deal. And we were already playing hard on defense, so to be rewarded on the offensive end where guys can get rest and then we get back and continue to play out the game until the clock is at zero is a big deal for us."

And when the clock struck zerot , inot only was a big deal for the Mavs. It also was a big deal for their fans, who have watched the Clippers torment this team too many times in the playoffs in recent years.

This time, as the crowed was rocking AAC all night long, it was the Mavs who got the last laugh and some sense of salvation.

"I lost twice to them (in the playoffs)," said Dončić, who finished with 28 points, seven rebounds and 13 assists. "So, it was even bigger motivation to beat them.

"They have a great team, and you have to work really hard to beat them. So, I am happy."

It's the first time the Mavs clinched a playoff series at home since 2011 when they eliminated Oklahoma City in five games in the Western Conference Finals. The Mavs also exorcized the demons that was the Clippers, who eliminated the Mavs in the first rounds of the 2020 and '21 playoffs.

This was just the third time since they captured the 2011 NBA championship that the Mavs won a playoff series. The other series wins occurred in 2022 when they beat the Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns on their way to the Western Conference finals.

After sending the Clippers out of the playoffs and spoiling coach Tyronn Lue's 47th birthday, Mavs coach Jason Kidd's message to his team was just to enjoy themselves.

"To beat the Clippers is no easy task," Kidd said. "It wasn't a given. Those guys earned it.

"We'll have tomorrow off, regroup on Sunday and then focus on Oklahoma City. But they should enjoy it."

In addition to Irving and Dončić, the Mavs got 14 points and five rebounds from P.J. Washington, 13 points and six boards from Daniel Gafford, and 10 points and nine rebounds from Dereck Lively II.

The Clippers were led by Norman Powell (20 points), Paul George (18 points, 11 rebounds), Zubac (17 points, 11 rebounds) and Harden (16 points, 13 assists).

While the Mavs shot 48.2 percent from the field, they held the Clippers to 41.5 percent shooting and to just 8-of-31 shots from beyond the three-point line. It was an all hands on deck gritty defensive performance by the Mavs, as George was only 6-of-18 from the field and 2-of-10 from downtown, and Harden was just 5-of-16 from the field, including 0-of-6 from behind the three-point stripe.

"I think the biggest thing for me was on the defensive end," Washington said. "I told you guys when I first got here that was my main emphasis coming in, and that is where I hang my hat.

"We stuck together throughout the whole series, and that's all that matters. Now on to the next one."

The Mavs had the crowd on their side and all the momentum going their way after they mounted a 46-33 lead with a little over five minutes remaining before halftime when Dončić lofted a lob pass inside to Josh Green. But the Clippers went on a brisk 19-4 run and took a 52-50 lead with 24.4 seconds left when Harden darted from Gafford's blind side near midcourt and stole the ball and bolted downhill for a layup.

Gafford made amends shortly thereafter with a dunk that tied the game at 52-52 at the half.

Less than a minute into the second quarter, the Mavs were dealt a serious blow when Maxi Kleber fell hard on the floor after a foul by Amir Coffey. Kleber shot his two free throws, then went to the locker room with an exasperated look on his face after suffering a sprained right shoulder.

With Dončić fueling the action, the Mavs led, 20-10, early on, and 34-26 after the first quarter. Dončić popped in 14 of his points in the first quarter. It was a quarter that saw the Mavs out-rebound the Clippers, 17-11, including a massive 10-4 advantage on the offensive end.

Then, as the second half started, Irving — he's 13-0 in close-out games — cranked up his offensive game as he scored 28 of the 62 points the Mavs scored after intermission.

"I thought he was having a really good game, had some good looks there in the first half that just didn't go down," Kidd said. "But as we talked before the game, just his calmness, his energy is always positive in the locker room.

"Then there in the third, he got going and in the fourth, he kept going. That's just the leadership and trust

that the guys have on the floor with him. Just his calmness, and he took what the defense gave. He got going, helped us with that 8-0 run to start the third. I thought from that point on, we just went."

And now, the Mavs will make the short flight to OKC to start their next journey in the upcoming Red River showdown.

"I am just in awe every night with both Luka and Kyrie," Washington said. "They are special players and

make special plays each and every night.

"Just to be a part of something special here in Dallas, I am excited to be here and excited to play my role as well."

X: @DwainPrice