The Los Angeles Clippers tied up their first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks with a 116-111 Game 4 win. Both Clippers wins this series have come in games Kawhi Leonard hasn’t played, with the Clippers looking noticeably different. Kyrie Irving commented on this difference after the game.
“When Kawhi is not in the lineup, you can see they are different players to a certain degree. I don’t want to disrespect their talent, but I think [they] play with a little bit more liberation [and] they take a lot more tough shots.”
Irving elaborated on how the Mavericks found themselves unprepared to challenge the Clippers’ offense once again.
“When Kawhi is out there, I think they’re looking to be efficient and get each other going a little bit more. For the second game where Kawhi isn’t playing, we came out, and I don’t think we were prepared for some of the shots they were taking.”
James Harden and Paul George dominated in Kawhi’s absence, with both scoring 33 points apiece in the win. Harden made multiple clutch buckets down the stretch while Paul George hit a game-sealing three as well.
Kyrie Irving put up 40 points in a sensational performance, leading the Mavericks to overturn a 31-point deficit and take a lead during the game before the Clippers outperformed them in the clutch.
The Clippers failed to score over 100 points in both games where Kawhi played, with his slow-footed game taking his teammates out of their rhythm and creating clunky offense. Without Leonard, the Clippers are playing at a much higher tempo, the difference of which has thrown Dallas off twice. They can’t afford to let this happen again.
Luka Doncic Wants To Improve His Play For Kyrie Irving
The Mavericks being 2-2 instead of up 3-1 or even having swept the Clippers is Luka Doncic’s inefficient performance this series. Doncic has struggled to get his offense going all series long, though he’s still averaging 29.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 8.5 assists on 38.6% shooting from the field. His overall impact is unquestionable, but the Mavericks need him to match the level we’ve seen him hit in the postseason before.
Doncic knows he needs to improve, if not for anything, but for Kyrie Irving, who’s been carrying the team in the second half of scoring this series.
“I just got to help him more. I feel like I’m letting him down, so I got to be there, I got to help him more. He’s giving everything he has and he’s been amazing for us the whole series.”
Irving recognizes Doncic’s importance and competitive fire as well.
“Knowing how well he knows the Clippers, I know he wants to play well, and I know he wants to make a bigger impact than what he’s doing now even though he’s almost averaging a triple-double… He’s a young kid in the playoffs going against a team that beat him twice. There’s a little bit of a mental fatigue there…”
The pair have proven they can play well together. Even in games where neither could make a big splash offensively, they locked in on defense enough to hold the Clippers to under 100 points. We didn’t see that aggression in Dallas last night, so if they come out with the right energy next game, we finally might see them beat the Clippers without Kawhi.
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