Kawhi Leonard registered 29 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals to help the Los Angeles Clippers produce a 118-110 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in the opening game of their Western Conference first-round playoff series on Monday night at AdventHealth Arena near Orlando.
The Mavericks led by five points early in the third quarter before big man Kristaps Porzingis was ejected following his second technical foul of the game.
Paul George scored 27 points and Marcus Morris Sr. had 19 points and four steals for the second-seeded Clippers, who shot 47.4 percent from the field and made 13 of 38 (34.2 percent) from 3-point range. Lou Williams added 14 points, and Ivica Zubac had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Luka Doncic recorded 42 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals, setting an NBA record for the highest point total in a player’s postseason debut. He also committed 11 turnovers, one shy of the postseason record set by the Houston Rockets’ James Harden in 2015.
Tim Hardaway Jr. added 18 points and Seth Curry had 14 for the seventh-seeded Mavericks, who committed 21 turnovers.
Porzingis had 14 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes before getting tossed out with 9:10 left in the third quarter. Porzingis, who also drew a technical midway through the second quarter, was called for his second when he entered a spat between Doncic and Morris and double technicals were called on Porzingis and Morris in the aftermath.
The Mavericks led 71-66 when Porzingis was ejected, and Los Angeles quickly took advantage with a 9-2 run to move ahead by two points. Williams’ three-point play pushed the Clippers’ lead to 85-78 with 2:38 remaining in the period.
Los Angeles led 87-82 entering the final stanza before Dallas knotted the score at 89 on a 3-pointer by Hardaway with 9:44 left.
George hit back-to-back shots to give the Clippers a 95-91 lead with 7:42 remaining.
Morris drained a 3-pointer to make it 109-102 with 1:58 left, and George buried a trey to make it 114-106 with 42.6 seconds left as Los Angeles closed it out.
Dallas shot 45.7 percent from the field, including 15 of 43 (34.9 percent) from behind the arc.
Doncic had 19 first-half points, and Dallas held a 69-66 lead at the break.
Los Angeles roared to an 18-2 lead at the outset of the contest before the Mavericks tied the score at 22 on Curry’s 3-pointer with 4:09 remaining in the opening quarter.
Dallas led 50-36 with 7:30 left in the first half before the Clippers answered with a 14-2 run.
