Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard scores against Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic in the first half during Game 6 in Dallas on June 4, 2021.The Associated Press
Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers made it an NBA-record six straight victories for the road team in a playoff series.
Now they have to figure out how to beat Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks at home in a Game 7 to avoid another bitter post-season disappointment.
Leonard tied his playoff career high with 45 points and the Clippers beat the Mavericks 104-97 on Friday night, winning for the third time in front of a raucous Dallas crowd more than three times bigger than any during the regular season.
This time it was a tense finish keyed by the two-time NBA Finals MVP after double-digit LA victories in the first two games in Dallas, and coming off the Clippers’ third straight loss at home.
“Great players perform in big moments,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “It just shows you who Kawhi Leonard is.”
Only one other seven-game series had started with five straight victories by the road team. Now Leonard and Paul George get their first chance to eliminate the team they beat in six games in the first round in the Florida playoff bubble last August. Game 7 is Sunday in Los Angeles.
“Just another basketball game,” Leonard said. “Like we say, if we don’t want to go home, pay attention to details, have faith, shooting the ball with confidence. If you do that, you can live with the results.”
Luka Doncic scored 29 points but was just 2 of 9 from 3-point range as the LA defence turned up the pressure in key moments and held Dallas to 29% shooting in the fourth quarter.
Tim Hardaway Jr. had 23 points but missed a 3-pointer and a layup in the closing minutes.
After coming home with a 2-0 series lead and losing twice, the Mavericks lost a close-out game for just the second time in seven games under coach Rick Carlisle.
Now Dallas has to bounce back from the disappointment of another missed opportunity on the home court, still looking the first playoff series victory since the franchise’s only championship 10 years ago.
“We’ve done it before already in this series,” said Kristaps Porzingis, the European sidekick to Doncic who was relegated to a secondary role on offence and finished with just seven points on seven shots in 31 minutes. “We feel like we can beat them, and we’ll see who’s right and who’s wrong.”
The Mavericks were down 90-88 when Maxi Kleber missed an open corner 3. Leonard scored the next eight LA points, including back-to-back 3-pointers for a 98-90 lead with 1:41 remaining.
A night after the other Los Angeles team was eliminated when LeBron James and the Lakers lost to Phoenix, the Clippers trailed for long stretches before going in front for good with six minutes left on a jumper by George, who had 20 points and 13 rebounds.
Reggie Jackson scored 14 of his 25 points in the first quarter to help keep LA close early. Leonard took over from there.
The five-time All-Star made all five of his shots in the fourth quarter, including the consecutive 3s, as LA shot 63% in the final quarter. Leonard was 18 of 25 overall and 5 of 9 from deep.
“He destroyed us,” Doncic said. “He had a hell of a game. That’s what he does.”
Leonard’s strong finish came after guarding Doncic at the start and plenty of time thereafter with Lue saying the Clippers needed to slow the Dallas sensation in the first quarter after Doncic scored 19 in the first on the way to 42 in Game 5.
“He’s been a big factor defensively throughout the series,” Carlisle said. “The fact that he had the energy offensively to hit those shots down the stretch, the majority of which were very difficult, is something to behold.”
The biggest lead for either team from the middle of the second quarter to the end of the third was a seven-point Dallas edge in the third.
The Clippers erased that deficit quickly with their best defensive intensity of the game to that point, sparking an 11-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from Leonard.
LA left Dorian Finney-Smith open for a 3-pointer that helped Dallas go back in front, and the Mavericks later scored the final five points of the third for a 77-73 lead.