The NBA playoffs in 2020 roll out on Wednesday night along with a Western Conference showdown. And in line with the trend of the day, Game 2 between the Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks was not very dramatic. After losing Game 1, the Mavericks jumped back to even the series at 1-1 with a 127-114 win.
Luka Doncic was dominant to start the game, helping the Mavericks to a 17-point lead in the first half. And although he finished with 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, he dealt with fierce problems in the second half, and had minimal impact after the break. The Mavericks ’bench stepped up, though Seth Curry, Trey Burke, Boban Marjanovic and Delon Wright combined for 47 enormous points.
Kawhi Leonard led the way for the Clippers as usual, finishing with 35 points and 10 rebounds. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, Lou Williams – 23 points and seven assists – was the only teammate to come with him. They shot just 29.4 percent from 3-point land, and struggled on the defensive end en route to a disappointing loss.
Here are some key takeaways from the game:
Luke makes history
It seems like every game there is a different note about Luka Doncic breaking some sort of record. In Game 1 he went for 42 points, which was the most ever in a playoff debut, and on Wednesday night, after finishing with 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, he simply became the second player to ever score 70 scored in his first two playoff games. The only player with more than that was George Mikan, who returned 75 points in his first two playoff games in 1949.
But although Doncic was a major lead in building the Mavericks in the first half, he needed a lot of help to close it. Due to fierce problems, he played only nine minutes in the second half, and sat for almost the entire fourth quarter. That’s apparently not how the Mavericks put things together, but getting a playoff win with Doncic playing just 28 minutes is quite considering how big a load he usually carries for this team.
The Dallas bank is coming up
Doncic had to be taken out of the game for big streaks of the second half, but the fact that Rick Carlisle was able to keep him there and not risk him falling out was due to the stellar play of the Mavericks bench. The Clippers’ reserves are known for their play, and they lead the league with 50.4 points from the bench in the regular season. In Game 2, however, they were outplayed healthy.
The trio of Trey Burke (16 points), Seth Curry (15) and Boban Marjanovic (13) all scored in double figures as the Mavs bench combined for 47 points on 19 of 31 from the field. Marjanovic – whose postgame interview with the inside of the NBA boys was great – caused problems with his size, while Burke and Curry hit the track and jumpers apparently hit.
Playoff P difficulty
The narrative about Paul George in the playoffs in general is pretty unfair, but he deserves criticism for his play in Game 2. He finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, but did so on 4 of 17 from the field, and was pretty invisible for most of the game. Ironically, the one big kiss he did, a 3-pointer that would have cut the deficit to seven points in the last few minutes while the Clippers tried to make a comeback, was wiped out by a moving screen call about Montrezl Harrell.
George has been great this season, and was huge in her Game 1 win, so there is not much to worry about here. At the same time, the Clippers just can’t afford nights like George from ahead. Even as good as they are offensive, it’s hard to win playoff games when one of your superstars barely manages to crack double figures.
The Clippers’ defense is nowhere to be seen
The old adage that offense games win but defense wins championships is really put to the test in this series. Strictly by offensive rating, the Mavericks put together the best offense in NBA history this season, scoring 115.9 points per 100 possessions. No. 2 in the league were the Clippers, who checked in at 113.3. In short, no team has trouble getting buckets.
On the other side of the ball, however, there was where things deviated. The Clippers were one of only two teams to finish in the top five in both offensive and defensive rankings, while the Mavericks had the second worst defense of any team to make the playoffs. Only the Trail Blazers were less.
That dominant Clippers defense was not seen in Game 2, however. Yes, the Mavericks are hard to beat, and Patrick Beverley was out, but backup guards like Burke and Curry were on the verge of dying, and that just shouldn’t happen. At some level you have to assume that Doncic will get it, but you can not let everyone do the same. The Clippers will have to defend defensively in Game 3, especially on the perimeter.
