By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Luka Doncic scored 28 points, and even without him, Dallas proved that they are not backing down. The Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Clippers 127-114, getting the tie at 1-1 in the Western Conference’s first-round series.
Doncic played just nine minutes in the second half because of foul trouble. He finished with eight rebounds and seven assists while breaking the record held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for more points scored in the first two postseason games with a total of 70 points.
Jabbar had 69 points in the first two games against the Sixers in 1970.
Even without the Slovenian sensation, the Mavs with a 14-4 run entered the fourth period with a 98-85 lead and held on until the end.
Latvian Kristaps Porzingis added 23 points for the Mavericks and Serb big man Boban Marjanovic added 13 and nine rebounds.
Kawhi Leonard had 35 points and ten rebounds for the Clippers who played without starting guard Patrick Beverley because of a calf injury.
On the contrary, the Raptors have a 2-0 lead against the Nets, and the Celtics also got the 2-0 after an easy 128-101 win over the Sixers. Jason Tatum scored 33 points for the winners, Turkish big man Enes Kanter had almost a double-double (9 p. 10 as.), and German forward Daniel Theiss added two points. For the losing side, Turkish guard Furkan Korkmaz scored three points.
Meanwhile, Utah also tied the series against Denver at 1-1.