LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers looked down on Dallas from the start.
The real pain was felt by Luka Doncic, who limped off with a sprained left ankle that could jeopardize All-Star status for the next match.
Leonard had 36 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, leading Los Angeles to a 130-122 victory over the Mavericks on Friday night for a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference first-round series.
Landry Shamet had 18 points for the Clippers, who jumped back from their loss in Game 2, although Paul George again shot poorly. Ivica Zubac added 15.
“We came out with more energy in the first quarter,” Leonard said. “They won that game in the first quarter.”
Doncic had a triple-double but also limped off the court after splitting his left ankle in the third quarter. He came back to play a bit of the fourth before checking for good and going back to the locker room area.
Coach Rick Carlisle said Doncic would receive treatment Saturday in hopes of playing in Game 4 on Sunday.
“I think we will know more tomorrow,” Doncic said, adding that he would get an MRI exam on Saturday.
The Clippers had been in control for a while by the time he was injured, and used a team record, second point of 45 points to build a big lead. And as Dallas cut it to eight halves in the fourth quarter, Leonard responded with a 3-pointer and left-handed dunk on consecutive Clippers possessions to restore a comfortable lead.
“That was a quick game, but for Kawhi he can watch the game even though it’s fast and he’s never in a hurry and knows where to go,” said Clippers coach Doc Rivers.
Kristaps Porzingis had 34 points and 13 rebounds for the Mavericks. Seth Curry and Tim Hardaway jr each added 22 points.
Doncic finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, but had a rough night, shooting just 4 for 14 from the field and 4 for 10 from the foul line.
George shot 3 for 16. He was just 4 for 17 in Game 2.
But Shamet picked up the slug when he started for the injured Patrick Beverley, who missed his second straight game. Shamet scored a total of two points in the first two games.
Doncic defends Leonard on a drive, with another 4 minutes left in the third when his left ankle rolls and he falls in front of the court. He stood up and tried to go to the nearby Dallas bank, but soon went back to court. He could then return and glue directly to the locker room area.
He returned to the bench a few minutes later and started the fourth quarter, but he did not move well and walked away again, sitting on the bench with his head in his hand.
Carlisle said the good news was the injury to his left ankle, not the one that hit the sophomore.
Rivers said the seventh-seeded Mavs have outplayed the No.2 Clippers by two games. But after an even first quarter in which Doncic and Montrezl Harrell suffered technical fouls after getting caught and exchanged, Los Angeles claimed him in the second.
“That was a big emphasis on becoming physical to get them out of their game,” Zubac said.
It was tied at 35 before the Clippers held the Mavs to three mandrels in nearly five minutes, and they went 17-6 to open up a 52-41 lead. Los Angeles scored 45 points during the period and led 68-54 at halftime.
“Our undoing was the second quarter,” Carlisle said.
TIP-INS
Clippers: Rivers said he did not know if Beverley had undergone an MRI on his left calf injury. He said the guard is getting better. Shamet started Friday after Reggie Jackson got his start in Game 2.
Mavericks: At 21 years, 175 days, Doncic became the third-youngest player with a triple-double in the playoffs behind Magic Johnson and LeBron James.
SAD FOR MASAI
Rivers said he’s friends with Masai Ujiri and had already seen the video of the Toronto Raptors’ replacement with an Oracle Arena security guard after last year’s NBA Finals Game 6, even before his lawyers released this week. The video appears to show a deputy of the Alameda County Sheriff that Ujiri first shook twice after Toronto’s victory over Golden State to win the NBA Championship.
“A man is at the top, the highlight of his career at the time, walking on the floor to celebrate with his team that they had just won the NBA Championship and he needed to be reminded again what his color was and it’s just so sad, “Rivers said.
Rivers said he had seen a longer version, and said it turned out that the guard was nice to people at first.
“And then here comes this one Black man with a suit,” Rivers said. “It’s just really sad.”
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