The LA Clippers dropped Game 2 of their series with the Dallas Mavericks, evening things up at 1-1.
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00:00The LA Clippers pulled away late in the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1, but unfortunately a team
00:04player showed that same fight in their 127-114 Game 2 defeat on Wednesday night. After going
00:10back and forth with LA in Game 1, Dallas led wire to wire on Wednesday night and were all
00:15over the Clippers from the jump. Much like how LA got off to an 18-2 start on Monday,
00:20the Mavericks began Game 2 on a 15-2 run of their own, though while Dallas managed to take
00:24the lead back in Game 1, the Clippers played from behind all night long. As a result,
00:29the series is now tied 1-1 going into Friday's Game 3, and the Mavericks have all the momentum
00:34right now. Let's go over three things we can take away from LA's defeat. First of all was
00:38Kawhi Leonard and his consistency. As usual, he was a bright spot in Game 2, recorded 35 points,
00:4510 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal in 41 minutes, then was a minus 7, and again,
00:50Clippers lost by 13. A majority of those shots were great looks too. Leonard had several of
00:56his attempts rim out, especially in the early going that could have provided the team with some
00:59momentum. He played better than numbers show. He was aggressive on both ends of the floor,
01:03but stood out particularly on offense, deliberately attacking the paint, following his shots,
01:08seeking out contact, rarely settling for jumpers, and when he did, they went down more often than
01:13not. They were his typical spots, he made those shots, that's just what he does.
01:18This is what we suspect from Leonard in this series too. Quite frankly, it's what he's done
01:21against the Mavericks all year. After five games, he's averaging 31.4 points and knocking down
01:26roughly 47% of his looks in the field and taking roughly nine free throw attempts per game. Those
01:32are elite numbers in a series like this. There isn't an adjustment the Mavs can make that'll
01:36keep Leonard from burning them time and time again. He'll keep doing this night after night,
01:40and as long as he remains consistent, the Clippers have the opportunity to control this series.
01:45Second takeaway was a crucial stretch that killed LA. The Clippers never led in Game 2,
01:51though there were a few times when they came close to evening things up.
01:55Most of those opportunities came with the third quarter. LA trimmed the lead out of two points
01:59on three separate occasions, and each time, Dallas managed to fight back and close the gap.
02:04The final time it got down to two points, though, was with the Clippers, in my opinion,
02:07out of the game. With two and a half minutes to play in the third quarter, Montrezl Harrell got
02:11a shot to go out the rim that made it an 85-83 game. The Mavericks responded with an 11-0 run
02:17over the next 1 minute and 22 seconds that included two three-point makes from Tim Hardaway
02:21Jr. and Dorian Finney-Smith, three free throws from Chris Hapsburg-Zingas after he was fouled
02:25down the arc, and a pull-up jumper from Trey Burke. Rather than going into the fourth quarter
02:30in a one-possession game, the Clippers found themselves down 13 with 12 minutes to go,
02:34which was Dallas's largest lead since there was 6 minutes and 14 seconds to play in the
02:38first half of the game. It was a brutal stretch that LA never managed to recover from, and as
02:43the Clippers failed to trim the Mavericks' lead down to single digits beyond that point.
02:48Moving forward, LA needs to make a more disciplined effort defensively, which is
02:51something that Doc Rivers has talked a lot about in these two games, especially in close
02:56situations. Dallas is capable of going on a run in a moment's notice. The Clippers need to play
03:00tighter defense and shut that down when they can. The last takeaway is the Dallas Mavericks' bench.
03:06They really had a fantastic game on Wednesday night. As impressive as Luka and Chris Haps
03:11were, I think the benches ultimately won this game for Dallas. Trey Burke, Seth Curry,
03:16and Boban Marjanovic combined for 44 points on a 19-28 shooting, which was an absolute
03:22backbreaker for LA. Burke was the leading scorer of that group, logging 16 points in 18 minutes,
03:27but I think Curry was arguably the most important there. He recorded 15 points,
03:323 rebounds, and 3 assists in 26 minutes of action, and was a plus-30 and a 13-point Mavericks
03:38victory. After the game, Doc said, quote, I thought their bench outplayed our bench and
03:42our starters. Between Seth, Bobby, and Burke, their percentage was insane. A lot of it was just
03:47beating us off the dribble, making plays, running pick and rolls, switches. I thought they played
03:51fantastic from the night. You just give them the credit. Conversely, LA's bench recorded just 37
03:56points, which is a fair effort, but well below average for a second game that led the league
04:00in points per game during the season. Some of that's to be expected, as Montrezl Harrell is
04:04still working his way back from a five-month absence, and Reggie Jackson played with the
04:08starters in the absence of Patrick Bradley last night. Lou Williams had a great game too, going
04:12to 23 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists in 32 minutes of play, but LA will need a more well-rounded
04:18effort moving forward on both ends of the floor. Looking ahead, the Clippers and Mavericks will
04:22play game three of the series this Friday, August 21st at 9 p.m. Eastern time. That contest will air
04:28on TNT and Fox Sports Prime Ticket, and this is a crucial game for the Clippers in this series.