As the Dallas Mavericks attempt to get a firm grip on this best-of-seven first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles
Clippers, coach Jason Kidd wanted to make one thing perfectly clear about the team from Southern California.
“This is a veteran ball club,” Kidd said, referring to the Clippers. “They’ve been in every situation, so there’s nothing for us to celebrate.”
Tipoff for Game 4 is Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at American Airlines Center, and the Mavs lead the series, 2-1. But Kidd want to remind everyone to temper their celebrations, and that a series is only won when one team wins four games, not two games.
“Understand, we haven’t accomplished anything,” Kidd said. “The series is still going on. We only won two games. We have a game tomorrow. It’s a quick turn playing in the afternoon.
“Everyone’s banged up, everybody is stiff or sore right now just because of the way the series is being played. But everybody is ready to go. Just understanding we’ve got to be able to execute the game plan tomorrow afternoon, but the guys are going to be sore, other guys are going to have to step up. That’s just the nature of what this time of the year is all about.”
Kidd wasn’t with the Mavs in 2021 when Luka Dončić scored 42 points, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out 14 assists to lead Dallas to a 105-100 win over the Clippers in Game 5 of a first-round playoff series that was played in Los Angeles. That gave the Mavs a 3-2 lead in that best-of-seven series, and they were coming back to the friendly confines of AAC for Game 6, where they were optimistically hoping to close out the series.
Instead, the Clippers captured Game 6, 104-97, then went back home and won Game 7, 126-111. Thus, even though momentum is clearly on the Mavs’ side right now, Kidd doesn’t want them counting their chickens before they’re hatched.
“(Game 4 is) a big game,” guard Josh Green said. “Just (have the) mindset-wise that (the series is) zero-zero.
“I think for us, just coming in with the same energy and making sure that we hit first tomorrow. We know it’s going to be a competitive battle, but just make sure that we’re ready go to.”
Game 4 likely is a must-win for both teams because the Mavs don’t want to relinquish the home
court advantage they wrestled away from the Clippers in the Game 2 victory, and the Clippers certainly don’t want to go down, 3-1, in this series.
“I think at this point in the season every single game is a must-win,” Green said. “It’s a seven-game series, but every game matters.
“So, I’d say every single game from here on out and every single game coming up is a must-win for us.”
What helped the Mavs win Game 3, 101-90, is the 13 dunks they negotiated against the Clippers. Eight of those were via lob dunks, which the Clippers kept to a minimum in the first two games of this series.
Center Daniel Gafford said the connection between the guards and centers is what made the lob-dunks a featured attraction of the Mavs’ offense in Game 3.
“(When) guards are getting downhill off the bigs’ screens, we got to make sure we get a hit off those screens and get those guys downhill depending on the defense that they’re trying to throw at us,” Gafford said. “I always say, be in the right place at the right time.”
The Mavs know they’ve outplayed the Clippers the past two-and-a-half games. They outscored LA, 67-53, in the second half of Game 1, then held them to 93 and 90 points, respectively, while winning Games 2 and 3.
So, what did the Mavs learn about themselves over the past 10 quarters?
“Understand, we’ve got to focus on what’s in front of us, and that’s Game 4,” Kidd said. “Protecting home and continue to get better on the defensive end, and then also get better on the offensive end and just trust each other on both ends, and continue to be connected, continue to keep talking to one another and helping each other.”
The Mavs have definitely handcuffed the Clippers from a defensive standpoint. During the regular season the Clippers averaged 115.6 points
, but in this series they’re only averaging 97.3.
And in Game 2, the Clippers shot their worst field goal percentage of the season (36.8 percent), while the 90 points they scored in Game 3 is just one point shy of this season’s low for the Clippers.
“That’s something that we’ve taken pride in is trying to be one of the best defensive teams in the league,” Kidd said. “Against the Clippers, who have (four) future hall of famers, they’ve got weapons everywhere, so we’re just trying to make it tough.
“We’re getting our hands on some of the passes, we’re rebounding the ball, which is big. You can’t give them second opportunities.”
James Harden scored 21 points in Game 3 for the Clippers, but collectively the Mavs held Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook to only 17 points on 7-of-25 shooting. That includes just 1-of-10 from behind the three-point arc.
If the Mavs can somehow duplicate that type of defensive performance in Game 4, there’s a good chance they’ll head to LA with the opportunity to close out this series on Wednesday.
“You always think about Paul George going or Kawhi going or Harden going or Westbrook going,” Kidd said. “You never (think) they’re not going to come. For us it’s to continue to try to make it tough on those guys.
“They’re going to make some shots, they’re going to get some steals. That’s just what they do. But you just continue to try to throw different bodies at them. Tip your hat if they do score, but try not to give them any freebies. If you give those guys easy shots and they get going, it’s hard to stop them, so we just try to make it tough on them.”
That, and remember this is not the time to celebrate, because a series isn’t over until a team wins four games.
KEEPING THEIR COMPOSURE: Game 3 got extra chippy and extra physical to the point where the Mavs think the Clippers are simply trying to get them to come un-glued, thinking that may be the Clippers’ best way to win this series.
So, coach Jason Kidd has a stern message for his team entering Game 4.
“One is to keep your composure and understand what the moment and what’s happening around you and to absorb that and make sure that there’s nothing that’s going to put you in harm’s way,” Kidd said after Saturday’s practice. “We all protect each other, we’re all there to help, and I think that’s one of the biggest messages is that they all know that they have someone behind them, and the trust factor is extremely high right now.
“So, just keep your composure, don’t let them try to take the energy. The energy is real positive right now and just continue to keep building on that.”
Clippers guard Russell Westbrook was assessed two technical fouls and ejected from Game 3 when he first aggressively spun point guard Luka Dončić. Then, he pushed Dončić, pushed Maxi Kleber and pushed P.J. Washington, who also was ejected from the game.
Earlier, the referees charged Westbrook with a Flagrant Foul, Penalty 1 when he tagged Josh Green in the head while the latter was flying in for a dunk. Also, Terance Mann and Washington each received a technical for jawing at each other, and a couple of other near-skirmishes almost unfolded.
“We just know that they’re going to try to come out and throw the first punch tomorrow at the end of the day, so try to stay consistent with just the mindset to come out and just have that same start that we had last night,” center Daniel Gafford said. “It’s a long series.
“They’re not going to go down easy, and we’re not either. So, it’s going to be a dog fight at the end of the day.”
DEALING WITH WESTBROOK: Josh Green didn’t make a big deal out of being whacked upside the head by Clippers guard Russell Westbrook in Game 3.
Westbook was assessed a Flagrant Foul, Penalty 1 for tagging Green, who was in the air and about to hammer home a fastbreak dunk when the Clipper guard came charging down court and popped him upside the head.
“It’s part of basketball,” Green said. “I have to hit players, too, so it just happens.
“I don’t care, man. I’ve been hit way worse, so it’s fine. It’s part of the game. If anything, it makes it more competitive, it makes it more fun, so I enjoy it.”
IT’S (NOT) RAINING THREES: There were a time when the Mavs were highly dependent upon the three-point shot to get them through a game.
Not anymore.
After making 37.1 percent of their three-pointers this season, the Mavs are only 33-of-100 from downtown in this series against the Clippers.
Meanwhile, they’ve developed another iron-clad way to win games.
“I think we’ve seen that during the season when we start to play defense that some nights that the shots are not dropping, that we can rely on our defense,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Guys have really bought into that and we’ve found ways to win.
“I think when you can win games that way you tend to find a way — if things aren’t going for you offensively — to participate defensively, and guys really believe that right now.”
BRIEFLY: Guard Luka Dončić was doubling over on the scorer’s table early in the first quarter of Game 3. He also hobbled off the court. But Dončić wound up playing 40 minutes Friday. After Saturday’s practice, coach Jason Kidd said of the status of Dončić for Game 4: “He looked good in film and he looked good shooting free throws. I’m going to stay in my lane and let the people who put that out, do that.”. .Guard Tim Hardaway Jr. missed Friday’s game with a sprained right ankle. Kidd said: “He had a workout today. He shot the ball. I think he’s feeling better, so we’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”
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