Norman Powell scored 29 points, Ivica Zubac posted a double-double of 21 points and 15 rebounds, and the visiting Los Angeles Clippers raced past the injury-depleted Dallas Mavericks 118-95 on Thursday night.
Los Angeles, playing the first of two straight games in Dallas, broke a stalemate that lasted much of the first half with a 22-6 run late in the third quarter.
The surge gave the Clippers a lead they never relinquished. The Mavericks, playing without Luka Doncic (heel injury) and Kyrie Irving (shoulder soreness), rallied early in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to eight points.
However, Los Angeles responded with runs of 9-2 and 11-0. The latter, lasting more than five minutes, closed out the game.
The Clippers defense held Dallas to 34-of-86 shooting from the floor (39.5 percent), including 7 of 30 from 3-point range (23.3 percent). Los Angeles also capitalized on takeaways with an 18-9 advantage in points off turnovers.
A key difference was offensive execution. Los Angeles shot 44 of 85 from the field (51.8 percent) and 14 of 33 from deep (42.4 percent).
Powell’s 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point range led the Clippers, while James Harden, Kevin Porter Jr., Amir Coffey and Derrick Jones Jr. each knocked down two 3-pointers.
Harden finished with 24 points and five rebounds to go with his team-high seven assists. Thirty of the Clippers’ 44 made field goals were assisted, including six assists from Kris Dunn and five each from Powell and Zubac.
Porter scored 12 points in his reserve duty for Los Angeles. With 16 points, Coffey scored as many points as the entire Dallas bench combined.
Klay Thompson led the short-handed Mavericks with 22 points. Spencer Dinwiddie scored 19 points and dished seven assists to match Harden. P.J. Washington added 14 points and nine rebounds in the loss, which opened a four-game homestand for Dallas.
The same teams meet again on Saturday.
–Field Level Media