Kawhi Leonard was available for Tuesday’s playoff game. Unfortunately for the Los Angeles Clippers, so does Luka Doncic.
The Dallas Mavericks star led his team to a 96-93 victory over the Clippers during Leonard’s return from injury for Game 2, tying the first-round series at 1-1 as they headed to Dallas. Doncić finished with 32 points, nine assists and six rebounds.
Game 3 is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. CT (ESPN).
Tuesday’s game was a defensive struggle until the fourth quarter, with the Clippers particularly struggling to shoot the ball with any consistency. They finished the game 32 of 87 (36.8%) from the field and 8 of 30 (26.7) from 3-point range, and the game could have been much worse if they hadn’t had a game solid at that time. in turnovers (eight) and offensive rebounds (14).
The Mavericks led for the vast majority of the game, but the Clippers were always there. They took a one-point lead in each quarter, but the Mavericks responded with a considerable run at every point.
Dončić delivered what appeared to be a dagger with about 87 seconds left.
The Clippers still had some life left in them, cutting the Mavs’ lead to just three points with 20 seconds remaining. A 3-point basket by Paul George left the score a little closer than the game seemed.
Leonard was quiet in his return by his standards, posting 15 points, seven rebounds and four steals in 35 minutes. He missed the final eight games of the regular season and the opener against the Mavericks on Sunday due to lingering knee inflammation.
Head coach Tyronn Lue confirmed his status to reporters Tuesday evening.
“He checked all the boxes, and the doctor does a great job making sure he checks those boxes,” Lue said. “We never put a guy on the floor that’s not ready to go, so he’s ready to go.”
Leonard was questionable for Game 1 until the Clippers ruled him out before tip-off. He participated in the filming Tuesday morningraising hopes in Los Angeles of his availability for Game 2. The Clippers called after pregame warmups.
Clippers rolled in Game 1 with Leonard sidelined
The Clippers thrived in a 109-97 Game 1 victory despite Leonard’s absence. James Harden scored 20 points in the first half in a 28-point effort as the Clippers held the Mavericks to 30 points on 22.5% shooting in the first half. Los Angeles took a 56-30 halftime lead, then thwarted a Dallas comeback effort in the second half. The Mavericks have never challenged a dominant Clippers victory.
The Clippers, of course, are better off with Leonard in the lineup. A six-time All-Star, seven-time All-Defensive team and five-time All-NBA player, Leonard is one of the best two-way players in basketball.
He averaged 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.9 blocks per game this season while shooting 52.5 percent from the floor and 41.7 % at 3 points. Until his knee problem, he had largely avoided the injury problems that plagued his career. He played in 68 regular season games, his most since the 2016-17 season with the San Antonio Spurs.
