INGLEWOOD, Cal — For the second time in as many days, the Dallas Mavericks didn’t have enough firepower to compete with the LA Clippers.
Despite the returns of Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II, the Mavericks suffered a 135-104 loss at Intuit Dome and dropped to 38-41.
Nearly a year ago, the Mavericks were preparing to face the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs — the first step in their long postseason run toward the NBA Finals. Now, the defending Western Conference champs are fighting for their playoff lives as they try to secure a spot in the Play-In Tournament.
Here are a few observations from Saturday’s loss to the Clippers:
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Related:Mavs takeaways: Dallas bullied by Clippers as Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II sit
Davis, Lively return
The Mavericks welcomed the returns of Davis and Lively, who both sat out the front end of the team’s final back-to-back in Los Angeles for injury management reasons. After getting beat on the boards by nine 24 hours prior, the Mavericks lost the rebound battle 45-41. Davis and Lively are still managing restrictions on their minutes, and the lack of rhythm is apparent in their performances. Davis finished with 27 points and nine rebounds, along with six turnovers. Lively had just two points and three rebounds in 15 minutes of action. The Mavericks were without Daniel Gafford, who sat the backend of the back-to-back, for injury management of his right knee sprain.
A lack of point guards costly
The Mavericks were down to just one traditional point guard after Jaden Hardy was ruled out with a right ankle sprain before tip-off. Spencer Dinwiddie, the only true point guard remaining, set the table for the Mavericks with eight points, four rebounds and a team-high nine assists. However, the Mavericks were forced to use a combination of Davis, Naji Marshall and Caleb Martin to initiate the offense when Dinwiddie was on the bench. The result wasn’t pretty. Dallas turned the ball over 16 times, leading to 19 points for the Clippers. The Mavericks had 18 turnovers on Friday. It is uncertain how long Hardy will be sidelined. He was listed as doubtful for Saturday’s game. Dallas has three days before they host the Lakers at American Airlines Center in Luka Doncic’s return for the first time since he was traded.
LA’s Big 3 shines
The Clippers’ Big 3 of Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Ivica Zubac dominated on the offensive end on Saturday night. Harden flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 29 points, seven rebounds and 14 assists. He was efficient in the paint, especially with his signature running floater. He also made a concerted effort to get to the free-throw line as he made eight of his nine freebies from the stripe. Leonard, who appeared in his first back-to-back of the season, didn’t show any signs of fatigue and totaled 28 points and six rebounds while making 12 of 19 from the field. Zubac asserted his will inside the paint with a double-double of 25 points and 10 rebounds.
Danger zone
With Saturday’s loss, the ninth-place Mavericks have accrued one more loss than the Sacramento Kings, who are currently 10th in the Western Conference standings. The Kings could leapfrog Dallas for ninth if they manage to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Mavericks would love to host the 9-10 Play-In Tournament matchup at American Airlines Center, but they’ll have to play on the road if they finish the regular season with the 10th seed.
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