Mavs destroy Clippers 124-73 to earn 1st win of season
Josh Richardson added 21 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 18 points for the Mavs, who kept up their dominance in the second half, too. Paul George led the Kawhi Leonard-less Clippers with 15 points before sitting out the second half. Serge Ibaka added 13 points and nine rebounds over three quarters of the team's first loss. He scored as many points (13) as the Clippers in the first quarter. They swept the Mavs last season, winning all three meetings as the visiting team, including a first-round playoff victory.
Mavs pull away while Doncic sits, beat Clippers 127-114
Two nights after scoring 42 points in the highest-scoring debut in postseason history, Doncic played just nine minutes in the second half. They beat the Clippers for the first time in five meetings this season and earned their first playoff victory since 2016. Kawhi Leonard had 35 points and 10 rebounds, but Paul George had a mostly miserable performance for the second-seeded Clippers. Clippers: Reggie Jackson started in place of Beverley and scored 11 points. The Clippers noticed the guard wasn't moving well at their shootaround and decided to scratch him.
Suns top Mavs to finish 8-0 in bubble, but fail to advance
Devin Booker scored 27 points and Phoenix beat the Dallas Mavericks 128-102 on Thursday to finish as the only team to win all eight games seeding games. Dario Saric scored 16 points and Cameron Payne and Cameron Johnson each added 15 for the Suns. Booker scored 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting before the break. SUNS DNAThe Suns averaged 122 points in the eight games. Suns: Either season over or will be in a play-in game against Memphis on Saturday.