Mavs go to L. A.

The Dallas Mavericks (1-8) around Dirk Nowitzki also suffered a severe defeat at the Los Angeles Clippers (5-2). A strong second quarter paved the way for the hosts to a relaxed success. Blake Griffin was once again the superior player at 119:98. Maxi Kleber is the only bright spot at Dallas.

A quarter of a quarter the Mavericks could keep up, then the glory was over. The Clippers won the second quarter with 34:19 and set themselves apart unassailable. With up to 20 points, the Doc Rivers squad led the race in the meantime. The run was mainly with the Second Unit, where Lou Williams (17) and later again Starter Austin Rivers kept the hosts’ offense going.

After the change, the Mavs showed a slight improvement. Harrison Barnes (12) scuttled a few jumpers, but that lasted only a few minutes before the clippers forced Mavs to lose the ball again and Dallas was drowsy in transition. After four minutes in the third quarter, the game was basically decided (76:54). Dallas couldn’t get any closer than 17 points, the extended garbage time started at the beginning of the fourth section.

Five players scored double-digit points for the hosts. Blake Griffin was once again the center of the offensive and scored 20 points (7/12 FG), 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Austin Rivers often drew aggressively to the basket and rewarded himself with 19 points (7/12 FG). Danilo Gallinari contributed another 14 points. For Dallas, Dennis Smith was Jr. with 18 points. However, the rookie suffered an additional 6 in some cases severe ball losses. Dirk Nowitzki scored 13 points (5/11 FG) and 8 rebounds.

Maxi Kleber got some early minutes and did a very good job. In a good 20 minutes, the German showed his complete arsenal, especially in the offensive: A tip in after a rebound, a three-way from the corner and also a fadeaway like from the textbook. Kleber scored 11 points (4/4 FG, 1/1 threesome, 2/2 FT) and stayed perfectly out of the field. In addition there were 3 rebounds and a steal.

Dallas remained true to himself and played very slowly, even without Nowitzki. During the break, the guests had only scored one point in transition. Thus, they tried their hand in numerous halfcourt sets, but they made little money. Without Dirk, there was usually at least one missing player who could provide for scoring. Smith was overwhelmed in parts and did not always make good decisions. Already during the break he had already made 5 turnovers.

Dallas started very promisingly and scored eight of the first nine throws, resulting in an early eight-point lead. After that, however, there was a lot of sand in the works. The zone was almost the entire game exclusion area for the guests. Only 26 points were generated there (Clippers: 48). At least from a distance, it was very acceptable over long distances, also because some attempts were very well played out. However, this was too rarely the case. Only in the garbage time the quota dropped, which had previously been around 40 percent to only 33.3 percent (12/36 threesomes).

The Clippers also demonstrated a good touch from a distance. Even Rivers successfully pulled the trigger from the outside several times. The hosts, however, had many other weapons, unlike Dallas. In the zone, Dallas was able to oppose very little and thus made many easy points possible. So it’s not surprising that L. A. hit 53.2 percent of the throws in the entire game.

The clip’s performance on the free-throw line is also positive, with over 80 percent of hits (24/29 FT) the clippers are always happy to take along. DeAndre Jordan also scored five out of eight freebies. Otherwise, only Rookie Sindarius Thornwell rejected an attempt.

Clippers vs. Mavs: This way to the BOXSCORE!

Blake Griffin. Dallas had no remedy against the Clippers’ Power Forward. Barnes tried most of the time, but couldn’t contain the damage. Nerlens Noel was also without a chance. Whether in the post office, on the perimeter or on the free-throw line: Griffin did what he wanted. His threesome also fell again. He didn’t hit spot-ups, but from the dribbling and mostly well defended.

The backup guards of the Mavericks. While Harris played well in the Starting Five, J. J. disappointed. Barea and Yogi Ferrell all along the line. At the break they were both without a point, although they had taken four throws each. The offense was visibly stalled, which could be exploited by the clippers. Only in the garbage time Ferrell (9 points, 4/12 FG) was able to improve his statistics a little bit, Barea finished the game with nine tickets without hits. Also again weak: Nerlens Noel.

Coach Carlisle spun through his rotations again, mainly with Devin Harris in the starting line-up. When the Clippers later scored as much as they liked, the Mavs coach unpacked the hack-a-Jordan tactics once again. The center hit his freebies. Afterwards, the Big was left alone and no further intentional foul followed.

Another interesting side note: In the garbage time Carlisle played a totally crazy lineup with four nominated bigs. Alongside Ferrell were Dwight Powell, Kleber, Jeff Whitey and Salah Mejri. That looked very strange, but the clippers were not badly surprised and gave some points.