The most hotly contested first-round series of the NBA playoffs continued on Friday night when Kawhi Leonard sealed a 104-97 Los Angeles victory over Luka Doncic and the Mavericks with a pull-up three with 1:41 to go.
The game was neck-and-neck all night, as Leonard scored 45 points on 18-25 shooting and put up a valiant fight despite Dallas’ excellent ball movement and three-point shooting. Despite clearly being the best player on the floor in this one, defending Luka Doncic on one end and scoring relentlessly on the other, Leonard didn’t get a ton of help from his teammates.
He got a combined 40 from Paul George and Reggie Jackson, but the Clippers were enormously reliant on Leonard to score on Friday night. The plays were just ridiculous:
Kawhi over Porzingis 🔨
(via @NBATV)pic.twitter.com/NmgjklDxwY
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 5, 2021
KAWHI FEELIN' IT pic.twitter.com/SXDb3BmfM8
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) June 5, 2021
And Dallas was actually up going into the fourth quarter thanks to a monster third quarter from Tim Hardaway Jr. and some success scoring in transition. Hardaway scored 23 points and made four of his 11 threes.
Tim Hardaway Jr is happening 🤩 pic.twitter.com/S2CeOzjRX5
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) June 5, 2021
The Mavs also were able find some offense going to Boban Marjanovic (who started again) inside, and he finished with 12 points and grabbed four rebounds. But when it got to crunch time, Leonard repeatedly went after Doncic defensively, isolating against him and getting to his spots at will.
In a game where neither bench did much and the best player on the floor had to rise up to win the game, Leonard loudly proclaimed through his play that that was him. The Clippers were up against it, having not won a home game all series and needing a win to push it to Game 7 back in Los Angeles. Their best player came through.
It was another legendary playoff moment for Leonard, who already has a career full of them. Last year in the Bubble, his best never really came, and it probably wouldn’t have been enough considering how Denver dismantled the Clippers anyway. But what Leonard did in Dallas on Friday sure looked like the guy we got accustomed to seeing come postseason time in San Antonio and Toronto.
After the Clips gutted out this win, the series became the first one in NBA history in which the road team won the first six games.
Heading into Game 7, it looks like head coach Ty Lue is finally prepared to sic Leonard on Doncic full-time and Leonard is feeling healthy enough and in-rhythm enough to be the Clippers’ primary play-maker in addition to that hefty defensive job. That game will be on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
