- Probably as a set-up to tonight’s game 5, ESPN.com had a lengthy article on something called ‘Decel’ - Harden and Doncic’s pet move of decelerating after a drive to distract or throw off defenders to the tune of countless free throws and numerous annoyances.
- Someone should calculate Leonard’s missed game total and link to how much salary he’s been bankrolled. It feels like it’s starting to border on Ben Simmons-level grifting.
- All of Westbrook’s attempts looked like something out of a bad mixtape tonight.
- Right out of the gates, Irving took the lead guard position to score a quick bucket and tossed a smooth lob to PJ Washington. Zubac tossed in a quick eight of his own at or near the basket. Derrick Jones’ corner three put Dallas up two. The Mavericks got their third lob of the quarter - this time to Lively. A tightly contested quarter with 12 lead changes resulted in Dallas slightly ahead 25-24.
- The Mavericks and Clippers traded baskets to stay neck-and-neck until Kleber’s second three pushed Dallas up six. Zubac’s 10th point (on perfect shooting), along with Powell and Mann’s scoring, helped steady the morose Los Angeles offense. Kleber’s third three nudged the Dallas advantage to eight. Zubac slithered around Lively to earn an and-1, while the Mavericks missed several freebies. Doncic willed home some jumpers to keep applying pressure on the hosts. Kleber’s fourth straight three, as part of an 8-0 run, propelled Dallas to a 56-46 advantage at the half.
- Irving’s incredible transition and-1 put Dallas up a dozen partway through the third. The Clippers’ marquee names continue to struggle noticeably - a litany of possessions mired in bricks and confusion. While Los Angeles was stuck at 50 for some time, an intense Doncic kept his opponents guessing and a 14-0 run deflated all of the air out of the Clippers’ sails. Things got so dire for Los Angeles, that they brought PJ Tucker out of mothballs to help defend. Undeterred, Doncic’s stepback three put the Mavericks up 25. George put up two quick straightaway threes; yet Josh Green’s four-point play sent Dallas into the fourth up 20.
- In the fourth quarter, a process of bodies hit the floor on both sides with little affect to the score. After Harden squirted the ball out of bounds, Irving extended the lead out to 27 with a pull-up jumper, and Tyronn Lue threw the white flag.
Source: https://www.poundingtherock.com/2024/5/ ... ers-123-93