Kyrie Irving scored 28 of his 30 factors within the second half and the Dallas Mavericks superior to the second spherical with a convincing 114-101 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers in Game 6 of the Western Conference sequence on Friday evening.
Luka Doncic recorded 28 factors, 13 assists and 7 rebounds for the fifth-seeded Mavericks. Dallas will meet the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder within the subsequent spherical.
“To be honest with you, I was physically tired and exhausted in that first half,” Irving mentioned. “Playing protection at a excessive stage will try this to you. I’m simply grateful for my teammates choosing me up. We got here into halftime and it was … 52-52, so it was anyone’s sport.
“Then we came out in the third quarter and I feel like we hit first and the rest was history for the rest of the game.”
P.J. Washington added 14 factors, Daniel Gafford had 13 and reserve Dereck Lively II contributed 10 factors and 9 rebounds for the Mavericks.
Norman Powell scored 20 factors off the bench and Paul George added 18 for the fourth-seeded Clippers, who had been with out Kawhi Leonard (knee) for the third straight sport and fourth time within the sequence.
“With our roster, we have enough to compete and be the last team standing, but health is a huge part of it,” James Harden mentioned. “The best ability is availability. … For somebody like (Kawhi), he wants to be out there. He did everything in his power to be out there and compete with us. It’s definitely frustrating for the entire group that had a pretty good regular season and had high hopes coming into the postseason.”
Ivica Zubac tallied 17 factors and 11 rebounds, Harden added 16 factors, 13 assists and 7 boards, and Terance Mann had 14 factors for Los Angeles.
Dallas misplaced ahead Maxi Kleber to a proper shoulder sprain early within the second quarter.
The Mavericks shot 48.2 p.c from the ground, together with 12 of 36 from 3-point vary. Irving made 5 3-pointers and Washington added 4.
Los Angeles linked on 41.5 p.c of its makes an attempt and was simply 8 of 31 from behind the arc.
The Clippers eradicated Dallas within the first spherical of the 2020 and 2021 playoffs however barely put up a combat over the primary 6 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter.
Dallas had a 15-point benefit to open the interval and shortly pushed it to 100-78 with 7:36 left after back-to-back baskets by Doncic and Derrick Jones Jr.
A short while later, Irving was dancing and prancing across the protection of P.J. Tucker. He drove towards the suitable nook and swished a 3-pointer. Tucker fouled him and Irving hit the free throw for a four-point play and a 106-82 lead with 5:38 remaining.
The electrical play had Dallas in celebration mode, however Los Angeles started making a cost. Harden’s three-point play capped a 13-2 burst that trimmed the Clippers’ deficit to 108-95 with 3:11 to go.
But with the margin at 14 with 1:14 left, each groups emptied the benches.
Dallas scored the primary eight factors of the third quarter and 20 of the primary 26 to show a tie sport right into a 72-58 lead. Irving made two treys through the rush, together with the one to make it a 14-point cushion with 5:49 remaining within the interval.
“We came out and had three out of four bad possessions,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue mentioned. “We turned the ball over and they got some easy ones in transition. Then we wasn’t sharp offensively, which allowed them to get out in transition to get some steals and some easy baskets. They went up eight and had the momentum from there.”
Irving’s third trey of his 13-point quarter gave Dallas an 85-70 lead. The Mavericks outscored the Clippers 35-20 within the stanza to take an 87-72 lead into the ultimate quarter.
Doncic scored 14 first-quarter factors to assist Dallas maintain a 34-26 lead.
The contest was tied at 52 on the break. Doncic had 18 for the Mavericks, and George had 14 within the half for the Clippers.
Source: www.anews.com.tr
