Clippers stave off Mavs' comeback attempt

[December 21, 2018]  Danilo Gallinari scored 32 points and Lou Williams added 26 in his return from a hamstring injury as the Los Angeles Clippers overcame a late run by the visiting Dallas Mavericks for a 125-121 victory Thursday.

The Clippers ended their four-game losing streak while the Mavericks took their fourth consecutive defeat. Los Angeles had lost six of its previous seven games.

Rookie Luka Doncic scored a career-high 32 points and J.J. Barea added 19 for the Mavericks, who are 0-2 on their four-game road trip that concludes at Golden State and Portland.

DeAndre Jordan scored 11 points and grabbed 22 rebounds for the Mavs in his first game at Los Angeles against the Clippers since leaving his former team as a free agent in the offseason. Jordan had 23 rebounds against the Clippers in a game at Dallas earlier this month.

Jordan had at least 20 rebounds for the fifth time this season, with four of those coming in December. He had 23 rebounds against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.

The Clippers' Doc Rivers picked up his 864th career coaching victory, tying him for 13th all-time in NBA history with Jack Ramsay.

Montrezl Harrell had 18 points, and Tobias Harris added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Clippers. Williams played 23 minutes after missing the previous four games.

The Clippers closed the first quarter on a 16-7 run to take a 30-27 lead after trailing by as many as seven points midway through the opening period. Los Angeles grabbed a 65-54 lead at halftime by shooting 27 of 45 (60 percent) over the first two quarters.

Clippers forward Montrezl Harrell (5) hangs from the basket after dunking the ball in the first half against the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

The Mavericks started their comeback in the third quarter, during which they outscored the Clippers 28-24. They ultimately jumped out front 90-89 with just inside of 11 minutes to play, their first lead since 24-23 in the first quarter.

The Clippers took the lead for good with 3:08 remaining on a pair of Williams free throws.

The Clippers entered shooting 37.3 percent from 3-point range, fourth best in the NBA, but they hit just 6 of 20 (30 percent) from long range against the Mavericks. Dallas made 10 of 28 (35.7 percent) from beyond the arc.

--Field Level Media

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