In keeping with the NBA’s theme for these 2024 playoffs, it’s fair to say a few words about the Mavericks’ defense.
It’s a thing.
In a strong show of toughness and willpower, the Mavericks unleashed their home-court version of playoff mode and took down the Los Angeles Clippers 101-90 on Friday night in Game 3 of the first-round playoff series.
The Mavericks went up 2-1 in the best-of-seven match and are two victories from advancing to the conference semifinals.
Friday night was not necessarily a must-win. But teams that take a 2-1 lead in a best-of-seven series advance to the next round 78.8 percent of the time (356-96).
So the odds have tilted strongly in the Mavericks’ favor, although they are only halfway home in this battle.
They owe it to their work on the defensive end, where the Clippers found nothing came easy.
“It’s something we’ve taken pride in is trying to be one of the best defensive teams in the league,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Against the Clippers who have weapons everywhere, we’re just trying to make it tough.
“We’re getting our hands on some of the passes. Just try to make it tough. We’re active on the defensive end and we’re going to need that.”
The Mavericks broke free in the second quarter when they limited the Clippers to nine points in the final nine minutes before halftime. They went up by 91-70 early in the fourth quarter and despite Russell Westbrook’s best attempts to agitate the Mavericks with his aggressiveness, the Clippers had no answers for the Mavericks’ defense down the stretch.
The Mavericks forced 19 LA turnovers, 12 of them via steals, and blocked seven shots. The Clippers shot 45.7 percent but only got 70 shots (to 86 for the Mavericks).
“Our defense dictated offense,” said Luka Dončić. “People didn’t play great offensively, especially me, but we won the game, that’s all that matters.”
And then there was Westbrook, who was ejected midway through the fourth quarter when he got in a dust-up with P.J. Washington, Maxi Kleber and Dončić.
“Everybody’s tough,” Kidd said. “We’re all competing for each inch, to find a way to win. The series is going to be more mental as it goes on. It’s very physical, but the mental aspect of this series, we have to be sharp and we have to understand what’s taking place. I thought the guys did a great job of protecting one another.
“We’ve talked about our positive energy, protecting one another and trusting each other. That’s just something we’ve always talked is making sure we’re not making a bad mistake and putting our team in a bad situation. I thought the guys did a good job and have done a good job in protecting one another.”
By the time Westbrook flung Luka in a circle and appeared to give a shove to both Luka and Washington, the Mavericks were comfortably in front and cruised to the finish line. They will have the chance to go up 3-1 Sunday afternoon at AAC (2:30 p.m. tip).
But the kerfuffle featured Luka turning the other cheek when Westbrook gave him a forearm shove to the chest. It was Washington that stepped in most assertively and Westbrook gave him a poke toward the chest, too.
“Amazing man. I have nothing else to say,” Dončić said of Washington’s handling of the situation. “He’s a team player. He helps all of us.
“It’s playoff basketball, there’s always going to be (physical stuff). I’m used to that. I’m used to players coming to me. I just try to stay calm and play basketball.”
And his teammates appreciated Dončić being unfazed by the things Westbrook and others did to him.
“It shows how he’s locked into winning,” center Dereck Lively II, who had 13 points, said. “He’s not locked into the nastiness of what can go on in the game. There’s going to be a lot of times when people are going to try to get him out of his comfort zone, get in his head.
“All he needs to do is know his teammates got his back.”
And it also shines brightly on Washington, who has been a junkyard dog for the Mavericks since his arrival in February.
“It riles us up,” Lively said. “He’s like the mouth of the team. He’s got our back, he’s talking on defense. He’s one of, if not, the best defensive player we have.”
Dončić wasn’t bad either as he finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists while Kyrie Irving had 21 points after getting just a single bucket in the first half.
A lot had been made of Dončić’s defense in Game 2 and, really, for the last half of the regular season.
And it’s been apparent that he has taken that end of the floor seriously, something that has happened over time since the coaching staff challenged him as far back as the 2022 playoffs.
And it clearly has stuck.
“I think we all can see it,” Lively said of the overall defense. “I think we all see when we’re on the defensive side there’s a different look in everybody’s eye. It’s being the aggressor, even though they have the ball.
“It’s going to come back to us being disciplined, locked into each play. And that’s what the playoffs are, possession-by-possession.”
As Clippers’ coach Tyronn Lue said before Friday’s game: “Oh, he’s a great defender. He takes the challenge. I think we only scored two times out of 17 (one-on-one defensive situations for Luka). So he’s doing a good job. And when your best player takes that challenge, you’re a whole different team.”
The Mavericks certainly were a different team in the second quarter than they were in the first on Friday. They had trailed most of the way and were down 32-25 early in the second quarter.
Dončić had already made a trip to the bowels of the arena when he came up limping gingerly in the first quarter. But he returned just before the end of the period. He said afterward his knee will be checked out on Saturday, but that he expects no problems for Sunday’s Game 4.
It was his step-back three-pointer with 8:52 left in the half ignited the Mavericks on a 29-9 surge to close out the first half.
X: @ESefko