2x Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard’s absence didn’t prove to be as major a loss as many analysts predicted. Complete team effort is what resulted in the LA Clippers’ 109-97 win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the first round of playoffs. Though James Harden and Paul George were the star performers for the Clippers against the Mavs, the contributions from role players paved the path for the victory. And this has prompted LA Lakers icon Magic Johnson to spotlight one of the major contributors on the night.   

“The Clippers blew the Mavs out last night with James Harden and Paul George taking lead, but a lot of credit should be given to Zubac for his awesome play inside! His 20 point, 15 rebound performance was electric, along with Russell Westbrook scoring 13 off the bench!” Johnson posted on X.

It is worth mentioning that George scored 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. Meanwhile, Harden came up with 28 points, 2 rebounds, and 8 assists for his team. Although these two are the highest scores by any of the Clippers’ players in Game 1, one cannot deny the crucial contribution of Ivica Zubac and Russell Westbrook. These two, along with Terance Mann’s 13 points and 9 rebounds, brought out the Clippers performing as a unit. This was something that the Mavericks lacked and thus suffered a 109-97 loss on Sunday.

Notably, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving had the highest scores from any of the teams in Game 1. However, the only offensive support they got from the team was PJ Washington’s 11 points and 7 rebounds. Therefore, Magic Johnson spotlighting Zubac and Westbrook apart from George and Harden makes a lot of sense. The game could likely have been close had the Mavericks been able to deliver a performance as a unit.

All is not lost for the Dallas Mavericks

Mavericks have faced an early setback in the playoffs series with their Game 1 loss. However, there are some positives they can derive from this game. The primary one can be the comeback by the Mavs after losing the first two-quarters of Game 1. The Mavericks won the third quarter by a close 34-31, but they widened the gap in the fourth quarter to 33-22.

Meanwhile, ESPN analyst Richard Jefferson had also pointed out a positive for the Mavs in the face of loss. He believes that the team that loses in Game 1 is likely to make more adjustments than the winning side. It’s a different story that his words got misinterpreted for undermining Clippers, as he claims.

Coming back to Mavericks, yet another positive for the team is Doncic and Kyrie’s individual brilliance in Game 1. While Doncic scored 33 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists, Kyrie put up 31 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists for the team. However, the Mavericks require at least one of their other role players to revert to their regular season averages. Again, it was not just Harden and George, but the team performance that won the game for the Clippers, as highlighted by Magic Johnson as well.