NBA Playoffs: Mavericks even series despite return of Clippers star Kawhi Leonard

Kawhi Leonard was available for Tuesday’s playoff game. Unfortunately for the Los Angeles Clippers, so does Luka Dončić.

The Dallas Mavericks star led his team to a 96-93 win over the Clippers in Leonard’s return from injury for Game 2, ending the first-round series at 1-1 heading to Dallas. Dončić finished with 32 points, nine assists and six rebounds.

Game 3 is scheduled for Friday at 7:00 PM CT (ESPN).

Tuesday’s game was a defensive battle until the fourth quarter, with the Clippers in particular struggling to shoot the ball with any kind of consistency. They finished the game shooting 32-of-87 (36.8%) from the field and 8-of-30 (26.7) from three-point range, and the game could have been a lot worse if they hadn’t had a solid game when it came . to turnovers (eight) and offensive rebounds (14).

The Mavericks had the lead for the vast majority of the game, but the Clippers were always there. They took the lead by one point in each quarter, but the Mavericks responded at every moment with a big run.

Dončić delivered what certainly seemed like a dagger with about 87 seconds left.

However, the Clippers still had some life left in them, cutting the Mavs’ lead to just three points with twenty seconds left. A buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Paul George made the score a little closer than the game seemed.

Leonard was quiet by his standards in his return, posting 15 points, seven rebounds and four steals in 35 minutes. He had missed the final eight games of the regular season and Game 1 against the Mavericks on Sunday due to lingering knee inflammation.

Head coach Tyronn Lue confirmed his status to reporters on Tuesday evening.

Leonard was questionable for Game 1 until the Clippers ruled him out before tip. He participated in the shoot-around on Tuesday morningraising hopes in Los Angeles about his availability for Game 2. The Clippers made the call after pre-game warmups.

Clippers rolled in Game 1 with Leonard sidelined

The Clippers thrived despite Leonard’s absence in a 109–97 victory in Game 1. 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 raced to a 56-30 halftime lead and then thwarted a Dallas comeback in the second half. The Mavericks have never challenged a dominant Clippers win.

The Clippers are obviously better off with Leonard in the lineup. A six-time All-Star, seven-time All-Defensive team selection and five-time All-NBA selection, 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% from the floor and 41.7% from distance. 3 point shot. Until his knee problem, he had largely avoided the injury concerns that plagued his career. He played in 68 regular season games, his most since the 2016-17 season with the San Antonio Spurs.