The Clippers vs Mavericks are off to a splendid start tonight. It has easily been one of the most looked-forward-to matchups this playoff season. But it seems like LA is looking to tire Luka Doncic early on. In what was some serious defending in the second quarter, Doncic had two Clippers on him as he was driving to the basket. Mason Plumlee, an ex-Mavs player, and Terance Mann had him sandwiched between them.

Although Dereck Lively tried to get him help, as Luka was getting closer to the basket, the number of Clippers increased. James Harden was standing close to the rim, and it was a flurry of hands to bat the ball out of the Slovenian superstar’s hands. But we all know that’s easier said than done.

Despite the horde, Luka Doncic finished through contact for the basket and foul for a solid And 1! This caught the eye of an ex-Lakers player, Nick Young and he wasted no time calling the refs out. He tweeted the officiating inefficiency through his X account. “They already cheating for Luka.”

Even with the odds against him, the 2024 scoring champion makes a solid case for himself. If we were to look at the highest-scoring average against the LA Clippers, be it regular or postseason, Luka Doncic leads the list with 32.5 points in a minimum of 15 games played. For the cherry on top, the 5x All-Star has four playoff career triple-doubles. And all of them were against the Clippers.

But it seems like none of the challenges stopped Luka from defeating the Clippers on their home court.

Luka Doncic and Co. take the lead going into Game 6

The Dallas Mavericks shut down the Clippers defensively so well that even though they comfortably won two games without Kawhi Leonard, they just couldn’t do it tonight. And this was a night when Luka Doncic was playing with ailments that held him back in certain instances.

He is already dealing with a sprained right knee. The 25-year-old also shared that he wasn’t feeling too well, to the extent that he had to blow his nose repeatedly tonight. Hopefully, he didn’t catch a cold or flu. The Mavs are getting closer to the edge of a playoff victory since 2022. Not to mention, this would only be the third time since they won the last ring in 2011.

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20 of Doncic’s 35 points came in the second half alone as he finished with a double-double – a game-high 35 points and 10 assists, along with seven rebounds. The Clippers, for their part, particularly struggled from the three-point line. They went 9-of-35 from downtown, courtesy of the Mavs’ defense. This was the team that drilled 18 treys in Game 4 while holding Dallas to 11-of-33.

Food for thought, though. Three seasons ago, when these two met in the first-round playoffs, the Mavericks won Game 5 on the road. But LA went on to win the next two matchups, at Dallas’ home court, and advanced to the second round. Hopefully, this time, it won’t be a repeat of history.