DALLAS: Sometimes, it doesn’t matter who defends Luka Doncic. For example, or 42 points, actually, Paul George, the superstar of the LA Clippers, whose name always appears in conversations about the major perimeter blocks in the NBA. Doncic made the four-time defensive selection look silly on several occasions during his masterful performance in the Dallas Mavericks ’105-89 victory on Wednesday.
Doncic, who finished with 42 points on 16 of 28 shots and nine assists, did not do all his damage against George. Kawhi Leonard was unlucky either. Neither is Nicolas Batum. Or anyone else the Clippers threw against the 22-year-old All-Star. And it wasn’t for lack of effort.
“Mostly, defensively, I thought we did a good job even though Luka set us on fire,” Clippers coach Ty Lue said.
George had the worst. According to data from Second Synergy, half of Doncic’s points came when he was tied with George in midfield. Doncic added 21 points on 15 shots (with an effective 70% field goal percentage) and handed out five assists without any change when he was saved by George.
“I thought we were playing a great defense,” George said, “but they hit some very, very hard shots and made some really great plays.”
The work that produced the most outbursts was probably a failure by Doncic. If Doncic had hit him in the back, it would have gone viral in a matter of seconds, as he braked and crossed so suddenly that George stumbled over the hardwood, putting both hands to break his fall when Doncic let go. the shot.
It wasn’t as nasty as James Harden’s crossover and the jumper back a few years ago that caused former Clippers striker Wes Johnson to inadvertently take a seat in midfield. But that was against Paul George, not some traveler.
Doncic’s last cube, a dagger float that was left at 1:27, came after another move that made George’s hand go to the ground to prevent it from falling. It was a cross behind his back on the right wing, where George stayed after regaining his balance, getting a good view of Doncic ending up in the lane.
“I won’t say anything about Paul George, who may have slipped on the ground or something like that, but Luka is a great player,” said Mavs coach Rick Carlisle, who highlighted his respect for George and the Clippers. . “He has the ability to make those game plays that are really exceptional.”
There aren’t many answers for Doncic when he shoots efficiently from three points away, something he’s usually done recently. Doncic has thrown 43% of depth in his last 14 games and 50.5% of the overall ball, averaging 30.5 points and 9.2 assists in that period. Not coincidentally, the Mavs (21-18) have won 11 of 14 games, returning to the Western Conference playoffs after falling five games below .500.
It’s no secret that Doncic wants to backtrack to his left, especially from the left wing. The Clippers (26-16) know it better than anyone, considering it’s the shot and the unforgettable point of Doncic’s unforgettable overtime to score a 43-point triple-double in a bubble victory against them.
However, Doncic was still 6-of-11 from the 3-point distance on Wednesday, including a four-point play when he paused after backing down, leaned over and contacted Leonard while dropping the shot. .
“Sometimes we let him get too far back to the left and he felt comfortable,” Leonard said. “It got hot and he fired shots, and it’s hard to turn off that water once a big player like this gets rolling.”
ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk contributed to this report.