Mavericks eliminate Clippers as Magic force Game 7

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DALLAS, May 4, (AP): Luka Doncic had 28 points and 13 assists, Kyrie Irving scored 28 of his 30 points in a second-half surge and the Dallas Mavericks advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a 114-101 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Doncic pushed through another rough shooting night with his ailing right knee to do what the Slovenian superstar couldn’t three years earlier – close out the Clippers in Dallas in Game 6 of a first-round series.

The fifth-seeded Mavericks beat the Clippers for the the first time in three first-round tries over the past five seasons and will open the Western Conference semifinals at the top-seed, Oklahoma City, on Tuesday night.

Paul George had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers, who won the first two times they played without Kawhi Leonard in the series but didn’t have enough scoring punch in the last two he was sidelined by right knee inflammation.

James Harden had 16 points and 13 assists but was just 5 of 16 from the field and missed all six of his 3-pointers as LA was eliminated in the first round for the second consecutive season.

Donovan Mitchell looked down at the stat sheet, slowly shook his head in amazement, and then chose his words carefully.
The Cleveland star seemed less surprised that he scored 50 points in a 103-96 playoff loss to Orlando than the fact the Cavaliers scored 66 points in the paint but only shot 10 free throws.
“That’s crazy,” Mitchell said, though he stressed that wasn’t the reason the Cavs failed to close out their first-round series against Magic.

Still hobbled by a right ankle injury, Mitchell made 22 of 36 shots, scoring many of his points by driving to the basket after being forced off the 3-point line.
The Cavs missed 13 of 14 3-pointers in the first half. Mitchell misfired on his first four and finished 3 of 9 from beyond the arc.

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