Mavericks vs Clippers: Luka Doncic's spellbinding form makes him Los Angeles' biggest threat in Game 3
Dallas Mavericks bounced back with a 127-114 Game 2 win over the Los Angeles Clippers leveling the series 1-1 on Wednesday, August 19. The star for the Mavs has to be Luka Doncic with 28 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 8/17 FG, 8/12 FT, and 4/7 3PT. It was a learning curve for the young man when he played the Clippers on Monday. Porzingis' ejection may have been bogus, but that didn't deter the small forward from putting up a match-winning performance in the second scrimmage.
It wasn't the ideal post-season start for Luka as he ended the opener on an average note. Lack of plays down the stretch cost them the game. Despite that, he still had the highest-scoring debut in NBA Playoffs history as he single-handedly notched up 42 points along with seven rebounds and nine assists.
The Ringer has made an astute observation where it outlines that Luka as picked up a lesson from LeBron James where the weak link is picked on and used to dismantle the defense. "Almost half of his offensive possessions against the Clippers (48.7 percent) came as the ball handler in the pick-and-roll. Not only is he at his best when attacking a scrambling defense, but those plays also allow him to pick and choose exactly who he wants to attack," the site analyzes.
Come Game 2 and Luka had fans spellbound as he made skilled plays. "Anyone who watched this guy would mistake basketball to be an easy game, he makes it look so easy," a fan opined.
anyone who watched this guy would mistake basketball to be an easy game, he makes it look so easy
— WISDOM🕴 (@eluewisdom_) August 20, 2020
"When you ball out every night no matter who you play the playoffs don’t phase you. Love watching this kid. @luka7doncic," read one of the comments.
When you ball out every night no matter who you play the playoffs don’t phase you. Love watching this kid. @luka7doncic
— James Ellifritz (@TheFritz330) August 20, 2020
With this, it is safe to term the first game's loss as an aberration. And it wasn't easy for the Clippers either as they threw the kitchen sink at him and he still came out on top. They attempted to stifle his drives, but the 21-year-old managed to pick out the weak points in the Clippers' defense making it difficult to be contained. On Wednesday, while he was on the bench, the team didn't buckle and Porzingis added 23 points for the Mavs to add to the win.
By now, there is no doubt the Clippers will be hard at work to figure out a way to stop Luka. The first game might have swayed in their favor, but he demonstrated why he was the best out there and unless there's a plan in place to block Luka, the series will be made a short work of by the man.
The two sides will meet again on Friday.