Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Dallas Mavericks 120-111, extending their win string to nine games, with Kawhi Leonard contributing to the effort with 30 points. The Clippers had led by 22 points at the time.
James Harden had 17 points and 11 assists, while Paul George was inactive due to an illness. In place of George, Norman Powell contributed 21 points off the bench. The Clippers have not been without victories for a period of ten games since the 2015-16 season.
The franchise record of eleven consecutive games in which a Dallas ace recorded at least 30 points was broken when Doncic finished with 28 in a sixth consecutive contest without All-ace guard Kyrie Irving, who is sidelined with a bruised right heel.
Doncic accomplished a sixth triple-double with ten assists and ten rebounds.
Late in the fourth quarter, with the Clippers leading by one point, Leonard, who also had ten rebounds, made a layup and assisted Powell on a three-point play.
The five-time All-Star then converted a layup and a dunk in the 52 seconds remaining, following two missed free throws by Doncic, as part of a 9-0 run that increased the deficit to 120-110.
Powell equaled his season-high with 12 points, and Amir Coffey added 12 points in his resumption of the year after George was incapacitated, both in the previous four games.
Dallas received 21 points from Tim Hardaway Jr. and 19 from Derrick Jones Jr.
Guard Josh Green and freshman center Dereck Lively II are also sidelined with sprained ankles and sprained elbows, respectively, in addition to Irving.
The Dallas rally gained momentum with an atypical sequence in the last minute of the first half, following a 22-point deficit for the Mavericks in the middle of the second quarter.
Hardaway was reduced to 1 of 10 after three failures on the same possession; he then received a fourth chance and connected for a 3. Grant Williams accounted for two of the three rebounds on offense.
Hardaway’s 29-foot 3-pointer with thirty seconds remaining in the first half brought the Mavericks within 11 points, 67-56, their closest distance since the beginning of the second half.\
