LOS ANGELES — Luka Doncic won’t be denied.
After a sub-par Game 1 where he struggled with his shooting — just 11-of-26 from the field and 4-of-12 from 3 — Doncic exploded for 32 points on 5-of-14 beyond the arc to lead the Mavericks to a 96-93 win over the Clippers at the Crypto.com Arena.
Tuesday night’s victory evened the Western Conference first-round series at 1-1. Game 3 shifts to the American Airlines Arena in Dallas on Friday.
Kyrie Irving provided a lot of firepower behind Doncic with 23 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists while P.J. Washington had 18 for Dallas, which shot 42.1 percent from the field (32-of-76) and 42.4 percent from long distance (14-of-33).
“Obviously it was a must-win and everybody was locked it. They punched us in the mouth in Game 1 and we just wanted to respond,” Washington said in his post-game press conference.
Kawhi Leonard returned to action after a nine-game absence with knee soreness but he wasn’t much oa factor despite scoring 15 points and 7 rebounds in 35 minutes on the floor. Paul George and James Harden each had 22 for the Clippers.
“I felt good. We still got more games to play and more time to get better. Just keep trying to get a rhythm back,” Leonard said.
After a torried shooting that highlighted their Game 1 victory, the Clippers were flat in Game 2,shooting a horrendous 36.8 percent from the field (32 of 87) and 26.7 percent from three (8-of-30).
The Clippers are hopeful they will get back a less rusty Leonard in time for a deep playoffs run.
“He’s going to find his rhythm and we’re going to find our rhythm around him,” teammate Paul George said.
