When P.J. Washington fired up a three-pointer from the corner near the end of the third quarter Friday night, the shot hit hard off the rim, but caromed right back to Washington on the baseline.
Four seconds later, the Mavericks’ forward found Kyrie Irving with a pass on the perimeter and that three-pointer nestled into the net and put the Mavericks up 85-70. If they needed a dagger to extract the last vestiges of life out of the Los Angeles Clippers, that may have been it.
Maybe it didn’t ice the game, but for all practical purposes, it finished the Clips. And it typified a night when the Mavericks were demons on the offensive glass, ripping down 18 offensive rebounds that they turned into 21 second-chance points and consistently kept the Clippers from gaining any kind of traction as the Mavericks won Game 6 114-101 and the first-round series, 4-2.
Dereck Lively II had five offensive boards and Daniel Gafford had four. In all, seven Mavericks had at least one rebound on the offensive end.
So when, exactly did the Mavericks become glass-kickers on the offensive end? It certainly wasn’t that way during the regular season. But that was one of the themes in this series.
“I think since the trade deadline,” Luka Dončić said. “The whole season, Tyson’s been working with D-Live. That helped a lot, learning from Tyson. It was a big thing. And trading for Gafford (was big). So since the trade deadline.”
The Mavericks could not have picked a better time to lean on their newfound glass work than in this series.
“The misses we were able to come up with, Gaff and those guys, gave us second or third opportunities,” coach Jason Kidd said. “And that was something we wanted to do in this series was try to own the glass if we did miss.
“And we missed quite a few shots. But those guys helped us get second and third opportunities. I thought D-Live did an incredible job of tipping the balls out and we capitalized on those offensive rebounds.”
And it started early. The Mavericks had 10 offensive rebounds in the first quarter. And while they didn’t pull away until later, it sent a strong message that the Mavericks were willing to grind in this game.
Their showing defied the fact that this was a team that ranked 23rd in the league in the regular season, pulling down fewer than 10 offensive rebounds per game.
“I think when we got Live and Gafford, everything changed,” Dante Exum said. “But I think it’s kind of putting ourselves in the right positions and watching a lot of film and understanding what type of shots we shoot.
“But I think it’s going to help us so much going forward and definitely against a team like OKC.”
The Mavericks weren’t razor sharp on the offensive end, although they did perk up significantly after halftime.
But their defense was solid, limiting the Clippers to 8-of-31 three-point shooting (25.8 percent). Like the rebounding, that’s all about effort.
“It’s playoff time,” said Josh Green. “Every possession matters. So our team knows that. We all want to win, so it’s fun for everyone. I think just playing hard and hustling has been key for us.”
Blast from the past: A Mavericks’ fan favorite from years gone by was spotted on the court pregame and Salah Mejri said he’s enjoying learning the business side of the NBA.
The 7-2 Mejri, a native of Tunisia, has settled in Dallas and is working for the NBA.
“I’m in the ambassador program with NBA-Europe,” he said. “I’m doing events, getting to know that side of the business, trying to know what I want to do now that I’ve stopped playing.”
Mejri makes trips for camps and clinics and business meetings with NBA-Europe. But he’s happy to make his base in Dallas.
“I’m back here in Dallas for sure,” he said. “I made a lot of friends, a lot of connections here. So it’s good to be here in Dallas. And there are way more opportunities in the U.S. I’ve played a lot of places, but I played four years here in Dallas and I enjoyed it. It’s not everybody who gets to do that.”
Mejri was with the Mavericks from 2015-19, averaging 3.4 points and 4 rebounds in 204 career games.
“They were my favorite,” Mejri said. “I love the Dallas fans. It’s a sports city and that’s why I’m back here, for sure.”
Briefly: Maxi Kleber took a hard fall onto his shoulder when he collided with P.J. Tucker in the first half. He stayed in the game to shoot the two free throws, making the second, but then quickly retreated to the locker room. Kidd said he did not have any information about the extent of the injury. “Next man up,” he said. Kleber had his arm in a sling after the game . . . Before Friday’s game, Dončić was presented with the Bob Lanier Community Assist Award trophy by Mavericks’ governor Patrick Dumont. Dončić won the award for the month of April . . . LA coach Ty Lue tweaked his starting lineup for Game 6, inserting defensive whiz P.J. Tucker for Amir Coffey . . . Tim Hardaway Jr. (right ankle) and O-Max Prosper (left ankle) remained sidelined. For the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard (right knee) missed his third consecutive game.
X: @ESefko
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