The Los Angeles Clippers rolled past the Dallas Mavericks 109-97 in their Game 1 matchup, doing so without star Kawhi Leonard, who missed out due to injury.
1. James Harden Leads a Balanced Clipper Attack
With no Leonard, the onus shifted toward the other collection of L.A. stars to get the job done at homeJames Harden was the catalyst of what turned out to be a dominant and balanced Clipper attack. Harden led the way with 28 points on 8 of 17 shooting overall, 6 of 11 from deep and 6 of 6 from the foul line to go with eight assists, two rebounds and two blocks.
2. Mavericks’ Star Duo Gets No Help
The star Dallas duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving didn’t get the help they needed to contest Los Angeles. Doncic led the team with 33 points but wasn’t too efficient, scoring 11 of 26 attempts overall, 4 of 12 from deep and 7 of 8 from the foul line.
3. Clippers Light Up 3-Point Line
Much of the reason to Los Angeles’ success in the opener boiled down to 3-point conversions. The Clippers went 18 of 36 (50%) as a team while the Mavs made only 10 of 33 (30.3%). Harden and George combined for 10 triples as a duo.
4. Ivica Zubac Dominates Down Low
Ivica Zubac dominated down low with 20 points on 10 of 17 shooting, 15 rebounds, one assist, one steal and a block in 33 minutes. He easily outplayed Dallas’ starting center Daniel Gafford, who only had three points in 14 minutes.
5. Clippers Control the Game Despite Missing Their Best Player
The Clippers just about controlled them all despite not having arguably their best player. The Clippers used a dominant 34-22 first-quarter advantage to set the tone, then outscored Dallas in the second 22-8 to keep the gas on the pedal.