National Basketball Association
Dallas 105, L.A. Clippers 89
When: 9:30 PM ET, Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Officials: #30 John Goble, #52 Scott Twardoski, #13 Ashley Moyer-Gleich
Attendance: 3975

Luka Doncic scored 42 points, his fourth game with at least 40 this season, as the Dallas Mavericks earned a 105-89 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday to earn a split of a two-game set between the teams at Dallas.

Tim Hardaway Jr. had 15 points as the Mavericks won two days after a 109-99 defeat to the Clippers. The Mavericks, who were eliminated in the first round of last season's playoffs by the Clippers, won the season series 2-1 between the teams.

Doncic added nine assists and shot 16 of 28 from the field, while Kristaps Porzingis had 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Paul George scored 28 points and Kawhi Leonard added 20 as the Clippers lost for the fifth time in their last seven games and went 1-2 on a quick road trip to New Orleans and Dallas.

Los Angeles was without Serge Ibaka (back) for the second consecutive game, while head coach Tyronn Lue went with a starting lineup that included Ivica Zubac and Marcus Morris Sr. in back-to-back contests.

The Mavericks held the Clippers to 42 percent shooting from the field, one game after Los Angeles made half of their 86 field-goal attempts. The Clippers shot just 28.1 percent from 3-point range, while Dallas shot 44.1 percent from distance.

The Mavericks led 77-63 late in the third quarter after consecutive baskets by Porzingis. Two 3-pointers by George in the final 32 seconds of the third got the Clippers within 77-71.

The Mavericks pushed their lead back to double digits early in the fourth quarter and cruised home from there.

Zubac had 14 points with seven rebounds for the Clippers, while Morris had 11 points and seven rebounds. Nicolas Batum had just three points in his second game coming off the bench.

Josh Richardson had 14 points and Maxi Kleber had 12 for the Mavericks.

Dallas played without Dorian Finney-Smith, who was out after the birth of his child. Dwight Powell played three minutes in his return after missing Monday's game because of a non-COVID related illness.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
L.A. Clippers   Dallas
Paul George 28 Scoring Luka Doncic 42
Kawhi Leonard 7 Assists Luka Doncic 9
Paul George 7 Rebounds Kristaps Porzingis 13
Paul George 3 Free Throws Made Luka Doncic 4
Ivica Zubac 3 Steals Luka Doncic 3
Paul George 1 Blocks Willie Cauley-Stein 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
L.A. Clippers 89 42.0 9-32 6-11 22 37 3 12 13
Dallas 105 50.6 15-34 10-12 14 43 7 7 18
Upcoming Games
  • Dallas will play their next game on the road against Portland. The Mavericks have a W/L % of .550 after a win and .526 after a loss.
  • L.A. Clippers will play their next game at home against Charlotte. The Clippers have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .812 after a loss.