LA Clippers on verge of playoff elimination after embarrassing blowout loss against Mavericks
LOS ANGELES - It was a brutal scene inside the Crypto.com Arena Wednesday night as the Los Angeles Clippers dropped Game 5 against the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs are now up 3-2 in the best-of-seven series and are one game away from advancing to the Western Conference semifinals.
During Game 4, James Harden and Paul George scored 33 games apiece. Unfortunately, they both struggled in Game 5. George had 15 points while Harden had 7. Meanwhile, Kyrie Irving, Luka Dončić and Maxi Kleber were sensational. The Mavericks were up by 10 at halftime and the poor shooting night for the Clippers continued well into the second half.
Desperate for defense and down by 26 in the third quarter, Clippers' head coach Tyronn Lue threw in PJ Tucker for the first time in the series.
The Clippers still finished the third quarter down 89-69 and it only continued to go downhill from there.
The Clippers seemingly waved the white flag with about 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter and lost 123-93.
To add insult to injury, an ad appeared at LA Live, across from the downtown LA arena, advertising flight deals from Dallas to Cancun. The ad hinted the Mavericks would soon be free to book their postseason vacations.
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The joke did not land for Clippers fans. They did not feel the ad was supportive but rather, they felt like bad karma was on the way.
"Us Clipper fans have PTSD from stuff like that that makes us scared of the karma it brings," one fan wrote on X.
Another shared those sentiments and wrote, "Please don’t backfire."
The way the game ended, both fans represented why they remain cautious.
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The Clippers are now on the verge of elimination and must win the next two games to make it to the second round. If they lose Friday night, their season is a wrap.
The winner of the Clippers-Mavericks series will face the Oklahoma City Thunder. Also in the West semifinals, the Denver Nuggets, the defending champions, will take on the red-hot Minnesota Timberwolves.
SERIES AT A GLANCE
Game 1: Clippers 109, Mavericks 97
Game 2: Mavericks 96, Clippers 93
Game 3: Mavericks 101, Clippers 90
Game 4: Clippers 116, Mavericks 111
Game 5: Mavericks 123, Clippers 93.
Game 6: Friday, May 3 at 6:30 p.m. PT (ESPN)
*Game 7: Sunday, May 5
* if necessary
