Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points, and Paul George added 17 of his 26 points in the first quarter as the Los Angeles Clippers extended their winning streak to six games with a 114-99 victory over the host Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.
Oct 22, 2019; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) dribbles the ball in
George and Leonard were playing together in a road game for the first time, and they were on the court as teammates for just the fourth time overall. Luka Doncic had 22 points and eight rebounds, and Kristaps Porzingis added 15 points and 10 boards for the Mavericks, who saw their five-game winning streak come to an end. Dallas lost a home game for the first time since Nov. 8.
The Clippers’ defense, led by guard Patrick Beverley, clamped down on Doncic, who entered averaging 30.6 points per game, third best in the NBA. The Mavericks were also the second-best scoring team in the NBA at 119.1 points per game.
George shot 5 of 9 from the field and 4 of 6 from 3-point range in the first quarter. The Clippers went 7 of 11 (63.6 percent) from beyond the arc in the opening 12 minutes but hit just 39.3 percent from the field overall during the quarter. The fast start helped the Clippers to a 62-46 halftime lead, with the Mavericks shooting just 31.4 percent from the field in the opening two quarters. They finished at 38 percent in the game while the Clippers converted 42.3 percent.
Doncic had 15 first-half points but was just 2 of 9 from the field and 0 of 5 from 3-point range, though he did go 11 of 11 from the free-throw line.
Seth Curry finished the night with 13 points for Dallas, and J.J. Barea added 12 points in just his third game of the season. The Clippers built their advantage to as many as 22 in the third quarter when they shot 54.5 percent from the field, and they led 93-77 at the start of the fourth.
Lou Williams had 21 off the Los Angeles bench, and Montrezl Harrell added 12 as the Clippers won at Dallas for the first time since November 2016.
