Mavericks at Los Angeles Clippers, Game 2
(9:30 p.m., Staples Center, Los Angeles)
TV: Bally Sports Southwest/TNT
Radio: ESPN 103.3 FM (Univision 1270 AM, Spanish)
About the Mavericks (1-0): They flipped the home-court advantage with their 113-103 victory in Game 1. But the Mavericks know that there is a very distinct possibility that they will need two wins in LA to take this best-of-seven series . . . History is on their side, however. Last season, 11 of the 15 playoff series were won by the team that was victorious in Game 1. Also, in the first round, teams that win the opening game go on to win the series 79.7 percent of the time. Last season, six of the eight Game-1 winners moved on to the second round . . . There might be ways for the Mavericks to play better than they did in Game 1, but they did a lot of things well. Not only did Luka Dončić have a triple-double with 31 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, Tim Hardaway Jr. (21 points), Dorian Finney-Smith (18 points) and Jalen Brunson (15 points) all came to life when the Clippers started trapping Dončić to get the ball out of his hands . . . The Mavericks will have to sweat out Maxi Kleber’s availability. He sat out portions of Monday’s practice because of his sore Achilles and is questionable for Game 2. He was very effective in Game 1 with six points, nine rebounds and four assists, plus game defense on Kawhi Leonard . . . J.J. Redick (right heel) is out . . . They shot 47.2 percent from 3-point range in the first game and they outrebounded the Clippers 42-39, which turned out to be a pivotal stat in the game.
About the Clippers (0-1): They will be trying to avoid a massive 0-2 hole that would come with a second loss on their home floor. Teams that fall behind 2-0 after losing the first two games on their home court do not usually fair well. The team that wins twice on the road to start a series ends up winning that series 87.1 percent of the time (27.4) . . . The question for the Clippers is whether they can find a way to not only limit Luka Doncic, but also not let Tim Hardaway Jr., Jalen Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith also go crazy offensively. One or the other, they can live with. But if the Mavericks get results from both Doncic and his support cast, it’s going to be a long (or short) series for the Clippers . . . While losing Game 1 in a series is not good, it’s not nearly as disastrous as when you lose it at home. Teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-seven series on the road only win that series 52 percent of the time (79-73) . . . The Clippers will be looking for more production from their two stars. While Kawhi Leonard and Paul George combined for 49 points, they only shot 17-for-40 from the field . . . The Clippers could alter their starting lineup. Rajon Rondo had 11 points, four rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes in Game 1. His playoff experience could come in handy for the Clippers . . . Marcus Morris did not have a great playoff opener. The Clippers were minus-23 in his 33 minutes on the court. And Morris missed all six of his 3-point shots.
Twitter: @Esefko
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