At 9:30 a.m. Beijing time on December 21, the NBA regular season ushered in a key battle between the favorite teams in the Western Conference, and the Clippers challenged the Mavericks away. The Clippers went through the run-in period with new signing Harden at a very fast pace, and Wei Shao made a lot of "sacrifices" during this period, and after being demoted to the bench, he averaged less than 20 minutes per game, and even only about 15 minutes of playing time in many cases. However, the overall trend of the team is positive, and after the big win over the Pacers in the last game, the Clippers have won eight in a row, and their record has risen to 16-10 and ranks sixth in the West. However, for this game, George will be sidelined.
The Mavericks were also very good, and during Irving's absence due to injury, Doncic led a group of role players to withstand the pressure. Despite losing to the Nuggets last time out, the Mavericks still have a 16-10 record and are in fifth place in the West. And Doncic is also in great form this season, averaging 32, which ranks second in the league per game9 points, 84 rebounds 91 assist. This also caused Nuggets head coach Malone to sigh again and again, saying that the league failed to prevent Doncic, which requires the efforts of a whole team. The Mavericks have hit 118 on the offensive end this season8 efficiency value, ranking 5th in the league. The starting lineups of both sides in this game, the Clippers sent Leonard, Harden, George, Mann and Kofe. The Mavericks use Doncic, Jones, Exum, Williams and Powell.
In the first quarter of the game, Maverick Powell scored a dunk in the air, the Clippers Kofei hit a solid three-point shot, Mann pushed the fast-break counterattack and made a layup, and the outside three-pointers were also raised. Mavericks Jones and Williams also made 2 three-pointers from the outside, and Leonard of the Clippers made a 2+1 basket and scored 7 points in a row. Harden also broke through to create 2+1, and Zubac and Powell also made free throws one after another at the end of the basket, and the Clippers extended their advantage to double digits. Doncic scored a key 2+1 and scored 5 points in a row. However, in the last two minutes of the Clippers, Leonard, Theis and Powell hit three three-pointers in a row. At the end of the first quarter, the Clippers led the Mavericks by 13 points, 35-22.
In the second quarter of the game, the Maverick Hardy hit a solid three-point shot from the outside, and Exum scored from the middle distance. The Clippers bench Powell and Wei Shao hit the basket and scored, and Theis scored five points in a row. Doncici scored five straight points on a jumper, and Hardy followed up from the outside. The Clippers Harden broke through, made consecutive fouls from the outside, and made all five free throws. Powell's outside shot took the lead to stretch the margin to 22 points. In the final period, Zubac scored six consecutive points under the basket, and Leonard also scored four points. Doncic continued to explode, scoring nine more three-pointers. With Hardaway Jr. hitting a three-pointer, the Clippers led the Mavericks by 11 points at 67-56.
In the halftime statistics, Leonard had 14 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist on 6-of-11 shooting. Harden had 10 points, 2 rebounds and 7 assists. Zubac had eight points and five rebounds. Powell had 10 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Wei Shao had 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals. On the Mavericks' side, Doncic had 21 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists on 7-of-17 shooting. Jones had 10 points and three rebounds. Exum had 5 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist. Hardaway Jr. had 8 points and 1 rebound. Hardy had six points and one rebound.
In the second half of the game, the Mavericks Hardaway Jr. and Jones broke through to score layups, and Williams made a rebound, and the point difference quickly approached. That's not all, Zubac scored hard under the basket, the Clippers' overall offense came to a standstill, Hardaway scored 4 points in a row, and led the team to play a wave of 18-2 counterattacks, and the difference came to 1 point. Powell and Hardy responded with a three-pointer, and Leonard scored six straight points to regain a double-digit lead. However, in the last three minutes, Exum scored three points in a row, and Williams scored four points in a row to lead the team to close the gap to two points. At the end of the third quarter, the Clippers led the Mavericks by two points, 85-83.
In the final quarter of the game, both teams that returned to the same running line returned to their normal style of play. The Clippers took the lead in Powell's breakthrough to make 2+1, and Theis scored a basket. The Mavericks followed closely behind, Hardy made a three-pointer from the outside, and Hardaway Jr. and Exum made fouls one after another to win free throws. In the last two and a half minutes, Doncic broke through and hit a shot, and the Mavericks trailed by one point. Immediately, Powell made a strong 2+1, and then made a fatal steal on Doncic, assisting Leonard to counterattack and dunk. As Leonard grabbed the free throw, the game ended and the Clippers won 120-111 over the Mavericks. The Clippers also won a 9-game winning streak!
In the full game statistics, Leonard scored 30 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block on 12-of-22 shooting. Harden finished with 17 points, five rebounds and 11 assists on 4-of-12 shooting. The two combined for 47 points + 15 rebounds + 16 assists!Kofe had 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Zubac had 12 points and nine rebounds. Powell finished with 21 points, three rebounds and two assists on 7-of-10 shooting. Wei Shao had 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals on 5-of-9 shooting. Maverick Doncic finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists on 9-of-25 shooting. Jones had 19 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Exum had 16 points and six rebounds. Hardaway Jr. finished with 21 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals on 8-of-21 shooting. Hardy 15 points.
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