Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic, left, drives to the basket as Clippers center Ivica Zubac defends and teammate Daniel Gafford, right, looks on during the first half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers star Paul George handles the ball as the Dallas Mavericks’ Maxi Kleber defends during the first half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic drives past Clippers guard James Harden during the first half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic holds his face after falling on a shot during the first half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Clippers on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers guard Terance Mann shoots as Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic defends during the first half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers center Mason Plumlee grabs a rebound in front of the Dallas Mavericks’ Daniel Gafford during the first half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers center Mason Plumlee grabs a rebound in front of the Dallas Mavericks’ Daniel Gafford during the first half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers coach Tyronne Lue shouts to his team from the sideline during the first half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic shoots as Clippers guard Terance Mann defends during the first half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer watches from a courtside seat during the first half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
The Dallas Mavericks’ Daniel Gafford, right, and teammate P.J. Washington, left, defend against Clippers center Mason Plumlee during the first half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
The Dallas Mavericks’ Daniel Gafford looks to shoot as Clippers star Paul George defends during the first half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard stands on the court before play resumes during the first half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic, left, drives to the basket as Clippers center Ivica Zubac defends and teammate Daniel Gafford, right, looks on during the first half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic shoots as Clippers center Mason Plumlee defends during the first half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers star Paul George, right, tries to block a shot by Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic during the first half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
The Dallas Mavericks’ Maxi Kleber (42) and teammate Derrick Jones Jr. (55) block a shot by Clippers guard Russell Westbrook, back, during the first half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers coach Tyronne Lue shouts to his team from the sideline during the first half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic shoots as Clippers guard Terance Mann, left, defends during the first half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic walks up the court during the first half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Clippers on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, right, steals the ball from Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic, left, during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, right, steals the ball from Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic, left, during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard dunks during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers guard Terance Mann, left, battles for a loose ball with Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic (77) during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers guard Terance Mann, left, battles for a loose ball with Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic (77) during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd reacts on the sideline during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Clippers on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, right, reacts as the Dallas Mavericks’ P.J. Washington, left, grabs a rebound during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic takes a 3-point shot as Clippers center Ivica Zubac defends during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers guard Russell Westbrook goes up for a shot as the Dallas Mavericks’ Maxi Kleber defends during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers guard Amir Coffey, bottom, battles Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic for the ball during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers star Paul George drives to the basket during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Players on the Dallas Mavericks’ bench watch the action during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Clippers on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic, right, drives to the basket as Clippers guard Russell Westbrook, left, defends during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers center Ivica Zubac (40) takes an off-balance shot during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers guard James Harden, center, reacts toward an official after a foul call as Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving, left, looks on during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers star Paul George drives to the basket as the Dallas Mavericks’ Derrick Jones Jr. defends during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic waits for play to resume during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Clippers on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, right, and the Dallas Mavericks’ P.J. Washington reach for the ball during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
The Dallas Mavericks’ Dereck Lively II rebounds the ball in front of Clippers center Ivica Zubac, left, during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
The Dallas Mavericks’ Maxi Kleber reacts toward an official during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Clippers on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers star Paul George, right, and the Dallas Mavericks’ Dereck Lively II battle for a rebound during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd looks on from the sideline during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Clippers on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic drives to the basket as Clippers guard Russell Westbrook, top right defends and Paul George looks on during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Clippers center Ivica Zubac dunks as the Dallas Mavericks’ Derrick Jones Jr. tries to defend during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks passes over Kawhi Leonard #2 of the LA Clippers in the fourth quarter of game 2 of a first round playoff NBA basketball game at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Clippers guard Russell Westbrook reacts during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
The Dallas Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving shoots over Clippers star Paul George during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic reacts after hitting a 3-pointer during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Clippers on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic reacts after hitting a 3-pointer during the second half of Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Clippers on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Players look on from the Clippers’ bench late in the second half of their 96-93 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. The series is tied, 1-1. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban sits courtside prior to Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Clippers on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
LOS ANGELES — Kawhi Leonard played his first game in more than three weeks on Tuesday night and by his own estimation, his performance was just OK. Not great, not bad, just so-so.
“I got, even if my wind is low, I got to find a way (to play better),” said Leonard, who had not played since March 31.
Leonard logged 35 minutes in his return to the lineup, and the Clippers needed every rusty second. And it still wasn’t enough.
The Clippers made a push in the final two minutes but couldn’t overcome a poor shooting night and lost to the Dallas Mavericks, 96-93, in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series as the visitors evened the best-of-seven set at 1-1.
The series now moves to Dallas for Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 on Sunday.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said it will take some time for Leonard to get his timing back but he’s going to have to put a rush job on it if the Clippers hope to advance in the Western Conference playoffs.
“I thought he just let the game come to him and then in the third quarter, I think we got down nine and he kind of just took over the game as far as scoring to basketball on offense, rebounding, steals and things like that,” Lue said.
“We played that hard … but they came in and won the game. We didn’t play our best, and so we are ready to go to Dallas, we will be ready on Friday.”
Trailing 90-81, the Clippers closed the gap to within 92-88 with a 7-2 run, capped by two free throws by Paul George with 27.1 seconds remaining. After Derrick Jones Jr. made one of two free throws, Leonard drove to the basket for a layup that cut the margin to 93-90 with 20 seconds left.
Kyrie Irving was called for a foul, which the Mavs challenged and had overturned. Irving made three of four free throws to close out the game before George sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Leonard’s progress from inflammation in his surgically repaired right knee was, at times, a cat-and-mouse ordeal. Was he healthy? Would he play? Can he run? Questions that were met with evasive answers.
As the days turned into weeks, the conversation went from he’s not ready to play to he could play with three days practice to he is out for Game 1. He hadn’t even had any contact practices since March 31, but his status finally became clear when he took the court during warm-ups on Tuesday, giving the Clippers the perennial All-Star they had missed for the past nine games.
Leonard said he hasn’t been able to do much throughout the three weeks except rehabilitation and trying to back on the floor. He was encouraged that his knee felt fine after the game.
“We still got more games to play, more time to get better and that’s what I’m focused on,” he said.
Although Leonard was off his game, scoring 15 points – well below his regular-season average of 23.7 points – he grabbed seven rebounds, came up with four steals and had two assists.
Lue was encouraged by Leonard’s performance after his three-week layoff, pointing out that his timing will come with more minutes. He was not under a minutes restriction Tuesday.
“I thought in the second half, in the third quarter, he really got active,” Lue said. “Couple of offensive rebounds, putbacks to kind of get him going as far as getting the rhythm as far as his plays and getting his shots and things like that.
“That’s going to come. I thought eventually there were some good things, some steals, some deflections, and it was just good to have him back on the floor so we’d be able to make it work.”
George said he wasn’t concerned about Leonard’s 7-for-17 shooting from the field, adding that his rhythm will return.
“Kawhi is one of the best in the world,” George said. “He’s going to find his rhythm. We’re going to find our rhythm around him. We feel good about it despite, I don’t ever like to take or look at the moral victories we lost, which is frustrating and upsetting, but it is great having ‘2’ back out there with us and we’ll all adjust. We’ll get our timing back, our rhythm back and getting a better flow.”
Leonard wasn’t the only Clippers player off their mark on Tuesday. George and James Harden each had 22 points, but the team shot a season-worst 36.8% from the field and 26.7% from 3-point range (8 for 30).
Ivica Zubac added 13 points and 12 rebounds, but Russell Westbrook had just seven points, Norman Powell scored six and Terance Mann added five.
Meanwhile, Dallas made 14 of its 33 3-point attempts (42.4%) and shot 42.1% from the field. Luka Doncic scored a game-high 32 points to go with six rebounds and nine assists. Irving added 23 points and six rebounds for the Mavericks, who led for most of the game two days after they trailed by 29 points and eventually lost, 109-97. P.J. Washington Jr. added 18 points.
The game was sloppy with a combined 42 fouls and 23 turnovers between the teams and neither team shot well. Still, the Mavericks maintained an advantage for most of the night as the Clippers fought to regain their poise from Game 1.
They finally found that composure and their shot in the fourth quarter, taking their biggest lead of the game at 73-67 on a 3-pointer by Powell and a layup by Zubac with 9:32 left.
Then their offense went stagnant, and the Mavs used a 14-0 run to open an 81-73 lead. Washington hit a 3-pointer in front of the Clippers’ bench, and Doncic and Irving followed with 3-pointers of their own, prompting a “Let’s go, Mavericks” chant to break out.
“The second half is the way we should play the whole game,” Doncic said. “We got to learn from that.”
Washington connected on another 3-pointer with 4:40 left to match the Mavericks’ biggest lead, one the Clippers couldn’t overcome – Leonard or no Leonard.
“Obviously it was a must-win and everybody was locked in,” Washington said. “They punched us in the mouth in Game 1 and we just wanted to respond.”
The Mavericks started with more physicality, but the Clippers quickly matched their intensity to keep the game within reach in the first half and trailed 45-41. Dallas had led by as much as eight points twice in the first half.
“We played 48 minutes of physical basketball,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. “Both teams were under 100. It was ’90s basketball at its best.”
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