Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks shoots the ball during the game against the LA Clippers during Round 1 Game 6 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs on May 3, 2024 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
Luka Doncic had 28 points and 13 assists and the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 114-101 in Game 6 on Friday night.
The playoff series win for the Mavericks avenges two previous first-round playoff exits at the hands of the Clippers in 2020 and 2021.
Dallas point guard Kyrie Irving, who was not on those previous playoff teams, scored 30 points in the victory.
Norman Powell led the Clippers with 20 points. Paul George had 18 points and shot 2-of-10 from three. James Harden's shooting struggles continued in Game 6 as he shot just 0-of-6 from the three-point line and 5-of-16 overall.
The elimination came on a night that the Clippers were once again without Kawhi Leonard.
The two-time NBA Finals MVP and two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award winner missed the first game of the series with knee inflammation before returning for Games 2 and 3, both losses.
Leonard did not look like his usual dominant self in those games and missed the remainder of the series with the knee injury.
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Russell Westbrook was not able to provide the Clippers with any additional spark off the bench in Leonard's absence. The former NBA MVP Award winner had just six points on 2-of-7 shooting.
The Mavericks led for most of the game, but the Clippers rallied from a double-digit deficit in the first half to take a brief 52-50 lead seconds before halftime.
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That would be the only lead the Clippers would have for the remainder of the game.
Dallas dominated the third quarter, out-scoring the Clippers 35-20. They stretched it even further in the fourth quarter, opening up a 24-point lead before Los Angeles inevitably waived the white flag.
The Clippers joined the Lakers in the offseason after both teams were eliminated in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
Wednesday's game at Crypto.com Arena, a blowout loss for the Clippers, marked the final game the two teams would share the downtown Los Angeles arena as co-tenants.
The Clippers will be moving into a new $2 billion arena in Inglewood next season known as the Intuit Dome.
The roster that takes the court in that inaugural game this fall could look drastically different than the one that lost on Friday night.
George has a player option and is expected to become a free agent. If he does, he will have several teams interested in his services. Harden is also a free agent as could Westbrook who also has a player option for next season.
Whether or not the Clippers decide to keep their core together could depend significantly on health moving forward.
In each of the last four playoff runs, the Clippers have had major injuries to their star players that derailed their championship aspirations.
This year, it was Leonard's knee that ended what could have been a deep playoff run. That leaves plenty of "what if" questions for the Clippers front office to ponder in the offseason.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks will face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the playoffs on Tuesday.
