The Los Angeles Clippers restricted the Dallas Mavericks from touching 100 points in Game 1, winning it 109-97. Playing without Kawhi Leonard, their dominance came through James Harden’s lights-out 3-point shooting and Paul George’s timely buckets. Further, Ivica Zubac posted a 20-point, 15-rebound double-double, and Terance Mann and Russell Westbrook helped with 13 points each.

With their offense streaking, the Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic-led offense is anticipated to return. They will, however, once again play without their best 2-way player, the Klaw. Kawhi, due to the ongoing inflammation in his right knee, is cited as questionable for tonight’s game.

“He’s going to go through practice today and we’ll see,” head coach Ty Lue said about Kawhi last night. While fans hope for a near-game upgrade in Kawhi Leonard‘s status, there is only a slight possibility of that happening. The Clippers have consistently kept Kawhi out of action, even when Lue promised the fans otherwise for the Clippers’ season finale against the Houston Rockets.

Kawhi’s extended sidelining comes through the consequences of his surgeries due to his ACL and meniscus injuries. So far, he only participates in contactless workouts, intending to be on the same page as his teammates and the staff.

With that, Leonard will miss his 10th consecutive game if he fails to get the green light for the Tuesday night game. Luckily, he is the only player on the Clippers’ injury report, enabling LA to deploy plenty of variations within the game. Moreover, the same applies to the Mavericks, as they only have Greg Brown on their injury report.

Can the Clippers repeat Game 1 success without Kawhi Leonard?

Even without Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers remain to be the real deal. Even though they have a 50% win record with him in the season, it hasn’t stopped them from cruising past teams like the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Moreover, they pose a 2-1 season record against the Dallas Mavericks this campaign, while holding them to their third-lowest total of the season (88 points). Additionally, their well-balanced offensive firepower demanded a whopping 144-point outing by the Mavs to mount their only win against the Clippers.

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With that, the LA team will enter their homecourt with an upper hand over the Mavs, will every possibility of repeating their Game 1 success. However, it might not be that easy this time around. In the previous game, the Clippers restricted the Mavs to just 8 points in the second quarter, putting a 24-point lead at the half.

The Mavs prefer Luka Doncic to attempt heavy shots during the initial stretches of the game, due to his league-leading production near the first quarter. However, before Luka put up 33 points, he struggled throughout the first half. Additionally, Kyrie Irving only posted four points at the half, albeit from the free throw line.

With that, the Mavs will step into Game 2 with more aggression in the initial stretches, forcing the Clippers to find a different route for a back-to-back victory.