LA Clippers exorcise playoff demons, mobilize Dallas Mavericks in last 7 games

LOS ANGELES – As the fourth-quarter lead of 19 points shrank to seven with two minutes to go, anxiety began to spread at the center of the Staples. Kavi Leonard In Game 7 he got help he didn’t get last year.

Leonard assisted with two straight 3-pointers Reggie Jackson And Marcus Morris S.R.., LA Clippers beat Dallas Mavericks 126-111 in Game 7 of the first round of the Western Conference on Sunday.

Almost nine months after embracing Game 7 defeat in the Bubble, the Clippers are returning to the Western Conference semifinals, where they face top-ranked Utah Jazz by exorcising some playoff ghosts. They won another amazing performance Luca Doncic They took 32-6 in the second half and advanced to the second round.

This time, the Clippers avoided their own playoff comeback and prevented the Mavericks from knocking out two games in a row.

Leonard and Dansik had an incredible first-round fight, and both stars occurred in Game 7. Leonard again set the tone for the Clippers, and lost three times with 28 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Danzi finished his second post season with 46 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds.

Clippers, 22 points and 10 assists Paul George, Finally broke down and became the only team to win at home in this entire series. The Roads team won the first six games of the series, marking the first time in NBA playoff history (excluding last year’s bubble games), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The Clippers got into this game and they feel like they are fighting history. According to data from ESPN Sports & Information, they were only 3-5 in Game 7 on Sunday, averaging 13.7 points from the previous three games.

Of course, they could still taste the loss of last year’s second round series to the Denver Nuggets, in which they took a 3-1 series lead in spectacular style.

That uncomfortable exit is a driving force entering a season this season for a team built to win a championship. But the Clippers dropped the first two games of the series at home and then lost 5 games at home again to face elimination in Dallas in Game 6.

Leonard delivered his best all-round performance as a clipper with 45 points and provided timely defense over Danzig to force Game 7.

Leonard opened Game 7 with the same intensity and struck out five of his first six shots – including a thunderous hand dunk – for 13 points in the first quarter. The problem is as tonic as it was in the whole series. The Mavericks star, playing in his first game 7, scored 19 points in the first quarter and made 10 of his first 14 shots at 29 for 29.

Clippers led 70-62 at half-time, with Leonard, George and Terence Deer.

Dallas opened the second half 19-6 with a lead of 81-76. But Morris (23 points) soared for the event. While the Lakers’ Marquez Morris, his twin brother, was watching from the front row, Marcus Morris buried both of his seven three-pointers in his post-season career to trigger 32-6, giving the Clippers an 108-87 lead with 8-8: 57 remaining.

Dallas reduced the deficit to 114-107, but Leonard Jackson and Morris started a celebration at the Staples center for 3-pointers.