The first two times Luka Doncic made the playoffs, the Clippers knocked him out in the first round. This year, it was time for payback.
Doncic finally got the Clippers monkey off his back with a 28-point, 13-assist effort in the Mavericks’ 114-101 victory. After losing in six games in 2019-20, and in seven games in 2020-21, Doncic and the Mavs took care of business in six games, closing Los Angeles out at home.
The Clippers assembled a Big Three of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and James Harden this season, but Leonard played only two games in this series. Dallas’ “Big Two” of Doncic and Kyrie Irving outscored the combo of George (18 points) and Harden (16 points) by 24 points.
Doncic had a rough series shooting, making just over 40 percent of his shots, but he played great defense and averaged 9.5 assists. Over and over in Game 6, Doncic delivered impressive and improbable dimes leading to Mavericks points.
Now the Mavericks move on to face the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, where Doncic will go head-to-head with fellow MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. But no matter what happens in the next round, Doncic has finally gotten payback for his Clipper defeats.