Mavericks bounce back in game 2 against Clippers

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Joseph Celsur, Sports Writer

On Wednesday night, the number seven seed Dallas Mavericks took on the number two seeded Los Angeles Clippers in the tightly contested game two of the first round of the NBA playoffs. Luka Doncic and the Mavericks came out Wednesday with a chip on their shoulders after losing game one when star power forward Kristaps Porzingis received a double technical for an altercation with Clippers Marcus Morris causing Porzingis to be ejected from the game.

The Mavericks would go on to lose the game 118-110 with young star point guard Luka Doncic going for a historic 42 point playoff debut.  At the beginning of game two, Doncic and the Mavericks started off hot while taking a 29-25 point lead at the end of the first quarter. From then on, the Mavericks would win every quarter except the fourth, which they would tie the Clippers with each team scoring 29 points.

Doncic would only play 28 minutes during the game but still put up a team-high 28 points along with eight rebounds and seven assists, falling just shy of another triple-double. Porzingis would also add on another 23 points and seven rebounds in his 36 minutes of play of his return to the lineup after getting ejected in Monday’s night game one.

Clippers star small forward, Kawhi Leonard, played 41 minutes in Wednesday night’s contest putting up 35 points, ten rebounds, and two assists. However, the all-star forward would receive little assistance as his star guard, Paul George, would only manage to put up a minuscule 14 points. Leonard’s only help would come from Lou Williams who put up 23 points, seven assists, and four rebounds.

Both teams will meet again Friday for a potential series-deciding game three that would give whoever wins a big momentum push going into the rest of the series.