LOS ANGELES – The Dallas Mavericks bounced back into the winning column, defeating the Los Angeles Clippers 96-93 to take game 2 in the Western Conference playoffs.
With the Mavs taking game 2, Dallas took away home-court advantage from Los Angeles in Kawhi Leonard’s playoff debut.
The Mavericks were led by their duo of all-stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Doncic led Dallas with 32 points while Irving added 23 in the Mavs win on Tuesday night, tying their Western Conference first-round playoff series at a game apiece.
In Kawhi Leonard’s return, he scored 15 points and seven rebounds in 35 minutes of his first game since March 31.
Leonard hadn’t played because of inflammation in his surgically repaired right knee.
Paul George and James Harden led the Clippers with 22 points each, while Ivica Zubac had 13 points and 12 rebounds.
The Clippers started to make a comeback in the third quarter after trailing most of the game despite struggling with their shooting.
Down the final stretch, L.A. outscored Dallas 19-10, giving them a slight 66-65 lead.
The Clippers kept scoring and widened the lead in the fourth quarter to a 73-67 lead, but the Mavericks scored 14 straight points to take an 81-73 lead.
The Clippers kept the game close but could not overcome Dallas in the end, as they trailed the Mavs 93-90 with just 20 seconds left in the fourth.
Irving went 3 out of 4 from the free-throw line, and George made a three-pointer at the buzzer as the Clippers fell short in game 2.
“We played 48 minutes of physical basketball,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. “Both teams were under 100. It was ’90s basketball at its best.”
Game 3 is Friday in Dallas.
Travis Tyler