LA CLIPPERS @ DALLAS (DAL -6, 209.5)
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CLIPPERS VS. MAVERICKS 4/26/24
The Dallas Mavericks, who finished the regular season as the 20th-ranked team in the NBA in scoring defense, have found that playing a defensive-minded Western Conference first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers has suited them just fine. Today, the Mavericks host the Clippers in Game 4.
Dallas won 101-90 at home on Friday to take a 2-1 lead. The Mavericks have held the Clippers to fewer points per game than both Dallas' regular-season allowance of 115.6 and Los Angeles' regular-season average of 115.6. It was the third straight game in which Dallas held LA under its average.
Additionally, Dallas' victory in the series marked their second straight in which they limited Los Angeles to fewer than 100 points. Dallas won 96-93 in Los Angeles on Tuesday to tie the best-of-seven series. The Clippers won Game 1 of the series 109–97.
However, given that Russell Westbrook of the Clippers and P.J. Washington of the Mavericks were both ejected in the fourth quarter of Game 3 following a skirmish that developed into a physical game, it is possible that the low scoring may have something to do with the series' increasing intensity.
After finishing the regular season as the NBA's top scorer with 33.9 points, Luka Doncic of the Mavericks finished with 22 points in Game 3 on 7-of-25 shots from the field, including 3-of-14 from three-point range. Doncic scored 33 points in the first game of the series and 32 points in the second.
Doncic had nine assists and 10 rebounds, landing just shy of achieving a triple-double. Kyrie Irving, who scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half, also came up big for Dallas. Throughout the series, Irving has averaged 25.0 points per game.
With Kawhi Leonard out of the picture, Los Angeles must avoid falling behind 3-1 before returning home for Game 5 on Wednesday.
Due to knee inflammation, Leonard, who led the Clippers with 23.7 points per game during the regular season, was unable to play in Game 1. Leonard last appeared in a game for the Clippers on March 31. He was in the starting lineup for Game 2 of this series and ended up scoring only 15 points on 7-of-17 shooting. In Game 3, Leonard finished with nine points on 4-of-7 shots before leaving the game in the last three minutes. He is listed as questionable for today’s game.
The Clippers won Game 1 thanks to the combined scoring of James Harden, Paul George, and Ivica Zubac, who scored 28, 22, and 20 points, respectively.. Zubac pulled down 15 rebounds as well. In the home loss in Game 2, Harden and George both scored 22 points. However, in Game 3, the Mavericks limited George to just seven points on 3-of-11 shooting.
For Los Angeles, Harden and Norman Powell each had 21 points in Game 3. Together, the two made 9 out of 14 three-pointers. The remaining Clippers made just 1-of-15 shots from beyond the arc. The Clippers shot 38.1 percent from three-point range during the regular season. In their last two games, LA is 18-of-59 (25.4 percent) from behind the arc.
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FREE PICK: P.J. WASHINGTON OVER 5.5 REBOUNDS
If Washington doesn’t get ejected in Game 3, he likely goes Over this number again. He had five to go with 10 points in 34 minutes. He hit this number in Games 1 and 2 and he’s gone Over 5.5 in 9 of his last 12 games. The Clippers will be better off playing small-ball lineups and that gives Washington an even better opportunity to clear this prop.
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