The Mavericks entered Tuesday’s night road test vs. the Clippers with the highest offensive efficiency rating in the history of the league. Luka Doncic entered as the darling of the NBA. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George saw the hype and raised it, in the process issuing a stern reminder that this season still runs through Los Angeles.
The Clippers stomped Dallas, 114-99, in a game that never felt close. George scored 17 of his 26 points in the first quarter and grabbed six steals on the night. Leonard bullied Dallas to the tune of 28 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Both played under 30 minutes. The Clippers are now 4-0 with Leonard and George together in the lineup.
Doncic, meanwhile, had arguably his worst game of the season. He ended with 22 points, six rebounds, and six assists, but he also turned the ball over seven times and went 0-8 from three-point range. The majority of his points came from the foul line. After the game, the normally reticent Leonard admitted stopping Luka was the focal point: “He’s been killing it lately, playing at a very, very high level. We just wanted to make it difficult for him tonight, get some deflections, and I think we were able to do that.”
The Clippers have every ingredient to win the championship. Leonard and George are phenomenal on each end, their supporting cast can make shots and defend, and they already seem to have found chemistry despite limited reps playing at full strength.
The Clippers feel like the heavy favorites right now. Maybe LeBron James and Anthony Davis will have something to say about that. Perhaps another challenger will rise up. But at the moment, the Clippers are the scariest team in the NBA.
Scores
Clippers 114, Mavericks 99
Schedule
All times ET
Clippers at Grizzlies, 8 p.m.
Timberwolves at Spurs, 8:30 p.m.
Wizards at Suns, 9 p.m.
Thunder at Trail Blazers, 10 p.m.
Links
Duke lost to Stephen F. Austin at the buzzer on the greatest ending ever.
Read Matt Ellentuck on LaMelo Ball’s excellent Australian adventure, which just might end with him becoming the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
I wrote about Carmelo Anthony turning back the clock in Chicago and why we should cherish that.
Matt Brown asks: how much money could future No. 1 WNBA Draft pick Sabrina Ionescu make right now?
Haley O’Shaughnessy on the crumbling Spurs.
SLC Dunk loves Bojan Bogdanovic.
The Kyrie Irving narrative that won’t go away, from Celtics Blog.
Raptors HQ writes a perfect blog post comparing the evolution of Pascal Siakam to the evolution of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. Also never forget Bill Hanstock once ranked every song in Tony Hawk for us (I’m still mad about him sleeping on “No Cigar”).
Dario Saric is the Suns’ unsung hero, writes Dave King at Bright Side of the Sun.
Be excellent to each other.