Five thoughts: Mavs dismantle Clippers in dominant fashion, turn attention to Thunder

Five thoughts from the Mavericks 114-101 victory over the Clippers in Friday night’s Game 6 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

On to OKC

Friday’s victory propelled the Mavericks into the second round of the playoffs for the second time in coach Jason Kidd’s three seasons. Their opponent is just 206 miles up I-35, the Western Conference No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder. The series begins Tuesday night in Oklahoma City.

The Mavericks went 1-3 against the Thunder during the regular season. They lost at home on Dec. 2, 126-120. On Feb. 10, in their first game with trade acquisitions P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford, the Mavericks pummeled the Thunder in AAC, 146-111.

On March 14, Dallas lost 126-119 in Oklahoma City on the second game of a back-to-back and with Luka Doncic sitting out. It was one of the Mavericks’ defeats in a 16-2 run until the season’s final two meaningless games. One of those was the season finale, a 135-86 Thunder blowout in OKC in which Dallas sat out most of its starters.

This is the third time the Mavericks and Thunder have met in the playoffs. Dallas beat young Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and James Harden and the Thunder in the 2011 Western Conference finals, 4-1. A year later, Oklahoma City swept reigning NBA champion Dallas in four games.

Luka’s revenge

This was the third time the Mavericks and Clippers have met in the playoffs, and in both previous instances the Clippers dealt Luka Doncic early career postseason disappointment.

In 2020, in the Disney World bubble during COVID-19, the Clippers won in six games, despite Doncic leading a 21-point comeback in Game 4 and draining a buzzer-beating 3-pointer for the 135-133 overtime win. A year later, Doncic and the Mavericks took a 2-0 series lead by winning twice in Los Angeles, but Dallas blew a 31-19 lead in Game 3, lost all three games in Dallas and ultimately lost the series in Game 7 in Los Angeles.

Long time coming

Mavericks fans waited a long time to see their team close out a playoff series at home. Before Friday night’s victory, the last time Dallas clinched a playoff series at home was on May 25, 2011. That was the night the Mavericks beat Oklahoma City, 100-96, in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals.

Since the 2011 NBA Finals, which Dallas closed out with a Game 6 victory at Miami, the Mavericks had won only two playoff series before this one over the Clippers. Both of those series wins came in 2022, with a clinching Game 6 victory at Utah in the first round and a Game 7 rout at Phoenix.

Following that 2011 championship, the Mavericks were not good in home playoff games, going a combined 3-9 in the 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2021 playoffs. We’re not counting the 2020 playoffs because they were played in the neutral-site Disney World bubble.

Under coach Jason Kidd, though, the Mavericks have fared much better in home playoff games, going 8-3.

Closeout Kyrie

Friday marked the 13th time in Kyrie Irving’s 13-season career that he’s taken the court with his team having an opportunity to close out a playoff series.

Irving’s teams are now 13-0 in those situations. He was 10-0 in Cleveland: Including 3-0 in the 2015 playoffs; 4-0 during the Cavs’ run to the 2016 NBA title; and 3-0 in 2017. He was 1-0 with Boston (2019), 1-0 with Brooklyn (2021) and now is 1-0 as a Maverick.

Entering Friday, Irving’s averages in close-out opportunities were 22.7 points, 4.8 assists and 3.8 rebounds. After scoring only two first-half points on Friday, Irving erupted for 13 third quarter points as Dallas widened its lead to 87-72 entering the fourth quarter.

Finally, some 3-pointers

The Mavericks entered Friday night shooting only 33.5% for the series from 3-point distance. It was good news in the sense that, unlike Dallas teams of recent years, the Mavericks largely won with defense and not an over-reliance on 3-pointers.

Things didn’t start off well from 3-point distance in Game 6, either, with Luka Doncic missing his first seven attempts and Dallas shooting 5-of-20 in the first half (25%).

Doncic, though, finally made a 3-pointer 58 seconds into the second half, giving Dallas a 57-52 lead. That seemed to break open the 3-point dam, as Dallas made 5-of-9 in the quarter, including 3-of-3 by Irving.