In the end, reigning Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers were too much for the young Dallas Mavericks.
The sixth and final game of their first round series ended with a 111-97 win for the Clippers, who got 33 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and five steals out of Leonard, who had an amazing series.
However, there are still a lot of positives to see for the Mavericks. Yes, they lost the series, and were blown out big in the last two games, but they were up against a team that was built in a “win-now” mode.
While Luka Doncic had his heroics, most memorably his game-winning shot in Game 4 that tited the series 2-2, the Mavs proved to be too green, and their main rotation players had too little playoff experience.
It also didn’t help that the second half of the deadly Euro Duo, Kristaps Porzingis, only played in two and a half games thanks to a combination of injuries and a dubious ejection.
In the games that he played in, Porzingis managed to average 23.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, and a block. He also shot 52.9% from beyond the arc and 52.5% overall.
That kind of production, along with the amount of attention he demands thanks to his unique blend of height and skill, was sorely missed in the final two games of the series.
Fortunately for Dallas, this series will only serve to give their young squad more confidence in their potential. They’ve seen a glimpse of what they can do, and Doncic proved that he can put up big numbers consistently against a team as good as the Clippers.
Doncic averaged 31 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 8.6 assists per game. As a 21-year-old, he’s only going to expand his game further. He showed that he can lead by example, and even steal a couple of games from an elite team like the Clippers.
The Clippers certainly deserved their series victory and look like they’re going to make a serious run at the title. The Mavericks, on the other hand, haven’t really opened their championship window yet. For a first showing, this certainly wasn’t bad. Now they’ll just need to figure out the other pieces that they need to put around Doncic and Porzingis to seriously contend.
Other news around the league:
The amazing duel between Jamal Murray (50 PTS, 5 REB, 6 AST) and Donovan Mitchell (44 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST) continued as the Denver Nuggets won Game 6 119-107 to force a Game 7. This is going to be one heck of a season.
The Boston Celtics got down to business and blew out the defending champion Toronto Raptors 112-94 to take a 1-0 lead in their conference semifinals matchup. Jayson Tatum (21 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST) and Jaylen Brown (21 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST) led the Celtics in scoring. No one on the Raptors managed to reach 20 points, so they’ll need to figure out their offense if they’re going to get a better result in Game 2.
