LOS ANGELES – Luka Doncic scored a career-high 32 points Thursday night at the STAPLES Center and DeAndre Jordan collected 20-plus rebounds for the fifth time this season.
However, it wasn’t enough as the Los Angeles Clippers extended the Dallas Mavericks’ losing streak to four games in a row with a 125-121 victory before a crowd of 17,528.
The loss evened the Mavs’ record at 15-15 and dropped them to 0-2 on this four-game road trip which continues Saturday at 8 p.m. when Dallas plays the two-time defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors in Oakland.
Doncic tallied 19 of his points in the second half on a variety of shots. But it was the Mavs’ bench that dug deep and helped keep Dallas in the mix.
Dunks by Maxi Kleber and Dorian Finney-Smith, a pair of free throws by Finney-Smith, a dunk and basket inside the paint from Salah Mejri, and a five-foot bank shot by Kleber via a feed from Mejri sparked the Mavs and had them nursing a 109-104 lead with 5:14 remaining in the game.
But the Clippers (18-13) immediately went on a game-changing 15-2 run, fueled by nine points from Danilo Gallinari, and assumed a 119-111 lead with 1:02 left.
“We did some great things, especially in the second half,” Doncic said. “We had great defense.
“I think we had some bad calls at the end of the game. I think if we’re going to play like this we’re going to win a lot of games.”
Two free throws by Jordan, a fast break layup from Doncic and a 3-pointer by J. J. Barea got the Mavs within 121-118 of the Clippers with 11.6 seconds left. Then a step-back 3-pointer from Doncic inched the Mavs to within 123-121 of the Clippers with 3.8 seconds to go.
However, Tobias Harris nailed a pair of free throws with 2.3 ticks left, and the Mavs’ chance at a comeback was ultimately thwarted.
“Our disposition in the second half was great,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “In the first half we didn’t play with enough force.
“In the second half we were tough, we played with collective force, we took care of the ball, we shared it, we made shots and we were tough in the paint. On this trip with these opponents, we just got to put 48 minutes together.”
The game’s outcome notwithstanding, Jordan put on an impressive performance in his first time playing the Clippers in Los Angeles since he left that organization after 10 years and signed a one-year free agent contract with the Mavs this past July. With the fans cheering him on, Jordan scored 11 points, grabbed 22 rebounds and handed out four assists.
It was a massive showing by Jordan, who missed Thursday morning’s shootaround with an illness and received a thunderous ovation from the fans during pre-game introductions.
“We played against the Clippers before (on Dec. 2 in Dallas), so (Thursday’s game) was cool,” Jordan said. “I wish we would have won the game, but it was fun to be back in front of the Clippers fans and play in front of those guys.
“I was a little sick earlier. I don’t miss games anyway, so I’ve got to play.”
Harrison Barnes tallied nine of his 16 points in the first quarter, which the Mavs trailed 30-27 when it ended. With Montrezl Harrell (18 points) and Gallinari (32 points) working their magic, the Clippers led 65-54 at intermission.
And when Lou Williams came off the bench to pour in 26 points and dispense eight assists – he was 9-of-12 from the field and 7-of-10 from the charity stripe, the Mavs had their hands full trying to contain this trio.
“He was great,” Carlisle said of Williams. “He made a lot of plays, made a lot of shots.
“He got to the free throw line a lot. An awful lot.”
Meanwhile, Doncic was busy showing the national TV audience – the game was televised on TNT—why he is the best of this season’s rookie crop. Doncic was 10-of-20 from the field, 3-of-6 from 3-point range, 9-of-13 from the free throw line, and also added four rebounds, five assists and four steals.
“We didn’t get a win, so for me that doesn’t matter,” Doncic said of his performance. “I just want to win.”
Carlisle, meanwhile, made a point to praise Mejri, who played a total of seven minutes in the previous eight games prior to getting five points, two rebounds and three assists in nine workmanlike minutes against the Clippers.
“I can’t say enough good things about how he’s kept himself ready, attached to the team, engaged, supportive of his teammates that were playing ahead of him,” Carlisle said. “It’s been great to see, and then he gets the call tonight.”
Mejri even missed the Thursday morning shootaround after saying he was congested. Yet he was very engaged around the basket and helped light a fire under the Mavs.
“He hasn’t played in a while, and he went in there and was a big factor,” Carlisle said. “I’m very happy for him, impressed, but not surprised.”
In the meantime, Barea tallied 19 points and distributed eight assists off the bench, and Devin Harris added 13 points in 19 minutes.
Also, Dirk Nowitzki continued a trend of only playing in the first half. The 21-year veteran went scoreless, missed his only shot attempt – a 3-pointer – and played just six minutes.
While he said he could have played in the second half if he was asked to, Nowitzki was just proud Jordan had a solid showing in his homecoming game.
“He was a factor, even though he was obviously under the weather,” Nowitzki said. “He missed the shootaround in the morning, but there was no way he was going to mis this game.
“It was his first game back and he had over 20 boards. He was active. Unfortunately, we didn’t get him the win.”
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