Mavericks’ defense dominates series ahead of pivotal game four against LA Clippers
Entering the postseason, the Dallas Mavericks were one of the hottest teams in the NBA as they won 16 of their final 20 games.
Much of the conversation surrounded their electric offense led by superstars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
However, so far in the postseason, it’s been their defense that’s led them to a 2-1 series lead against the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference Playoffs after a 101-90 win in their playoff home opener on Friday.
After being targeted in their 109-97 game one loss, Luka Doncic turned up his defensive intensity and the team followed holding the Clippers under 100 points in each of the next two games.
In the Mavs’ win on Friday they forced 19 turnovers, grabbed 12 steals and had seven blocks which helped spark their best offensive game of the playoffs.
The Mavs’ defense will be key in game four of the series on Sunday when they can take a commanding 3-1 series lead at home after a dominant game three win.
Head coach Jason Kidd said the defense leading the way isn’t by accident.
”That’s something that we’ve taken pride in is trying to be one of the best defensive teams in the league, and against the Clippers who [have] four future Hall of Famers, they have weapons everywhere, so we’re just trying to make it tough,” said Kidd, “We’re getting our hands on some of the passes. we’re rebounding the ball, which is big, you can’t give them second opportunities.”
After beginning the season as a middling defensive team, the Mavs’ defense soared over the final 15 regular season games, leading the NBA with the league’s No. 1 defense (106.1) which has carried over to the postseason.
While the Mavs’ defense has surged, its offense has struggled, the team has only scored above 100 points once in the entire series and has averaged 98 points per game, well off their regular season average of 117.9.
The Mavs might’ve found an answer to their offensive woes in game three with the way they attacked the Clippers’ defense.
Dallas bludgeoned the Clippers in the paint on Friday on their way to scoring a series-high 52 points in the paint. Irving and Doncic consistently found centers Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively for lob dunks and easy baskets with the pair scoring 21 points on 10 of 13 shooting.
“In the first half we had 10, I think and in the first two games, it’s probably the total that we had. So just to understand what they were taking away. I told Kai he probably had a career-high in lobs,” said Kidd, “He was really in tune with [Lively] and [Gafford]. Being able to get to the paint and the late pass, the lob was big for us and our bigs finished this evening.”
Kidd said the team must lock in if they want the Clippers to leave American Airlines Center without a win.
“Since game one in the second half, we’ve been playing Mavs basketball,” said Kidd, “We’ve got the [Clippers], this is a veteran ball club. They’ve been in every situation, so there’s nothing for us to celebrate, we gotta get back to work tomorrow and get ready for Sunday.”
