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Marcus Morris Sr. scored 23 points and Paul
George added 22 points with 10 assists as the fourth-seeded
Clippers advanced to the second round to face the Utah Jazz. Los
Angeles became the sixth team in NBA history to lose the first
two games of a series at home and still advance.
Sunday's game was the first time in the series the home team
came out with the victory. It was the first time in NBA history
the road team won the first six games of a postseason series.
Luka Doncic scored 46 points with 14 assists in his first career
Game 7 of a playoff series but was unable to carry the Mavericks
across the finish line. Dallas lost to the Clippers in the first
round for the second consecutive season.
Dorian Finney-Smith scored 18 points with 10 rebounds and
Kristaps Porzingis added 16 points with 11 rebounds for the
Mavericks, who had two chances to close out the series. They
lost at home 104-97 in Game 6 on Friday.
Trailing 81-76 with 6:53 remaining in the third quarter, the
Clippers went on a 21-2 run to take a 97-83 lead, pushing the
advantage to double digits for the first time in the game. They
closed out the third quarter on an overall 24-4 run to take a
100-85 advantage.
Doncic was intent on getting to the second round when he scored
29 points in the first half on 10-of-14 shooting, including 4 of
6 from 3-point range. But he had just six points in the decisive
third quarter and did not make any of his three 3-point
attempts.
The Clippers pushed their advantage to as many as 19 at 106-87
with 9:20 remaining on a pair of Leonard free throws. The
Mavericks made one last run, getting to within seven at 114-107
with 2:06 to play on a Doncic step-back 3-pointer.
But Reggie Jackson answered with a 3-pointer for a 117-107 lead
and the Clippers finished off the game and series from there.
Jackson scored 15 points, while Terance Mann added 13 for the
Clippers, who shot 50 percent from the field (41 of 82). Nicolas
Batum and Luke Kennard added 11 points each.
Boban Marjanovic scored 14 points for the Mavericks with 10
rebounds, while Tim Hardaway Jr. had 11 points. The Mavericks
got only six points from their bench, compared to 27 for the
Clippers.
--Field Level Media
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