The Dallas Mavericks nearly had the Los Angeles Clippers on the brink of elimination, but failed to capitalize (again) on the absence of Clippers star Kawhi Leonard in Game 4, as they fell prey to Paul George and company, 116-111 at home on Sunday.
Despite the Mavericks getting huge statistical performances from their superstar duo of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, Dallas still ended up falling short of successfully overcoming the 31-point deficit it had to claw back from in Game 4.
Dallas Mavericks Falls Short of Completing Staggering Comeback Bid in Game 4 vs Clippers
The Mavs looked dead in the water when Los Angeles built that huge lead, but the Mavs willed their way into even taking the lead in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for the Mavericks, their effort, especially the showing of Irving an Doncic, was not enough to beat the Clippers.
Via StatMuse:
The Mavericks are the first team ever to lose an NBA playoff game in regulation while having one player score 40+ points (Kyrie Irving) and another have a triple-double (Luka Doncic).
Irving led the Mavs with 40 points on 14/25 shooting from the field to go with seven rebounds and five assists in 45 minutes. Doncic, on the other hand, contributed 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, though, he shot just 10/24 from the field and was a salty 1/9 from behind the arc in 4 minutes of floor action.
With two guys enjoying heavy usages, the Mavericks are often projected to go as far as where Irving and Doncic would take them, but even with a combined output of 69 points, the duo could not get Dallas to a victory in Game 4. If anything, that proves that the Mavericks still need to get the two ample help against the still very dangerous Clippers squad that got a total of 66 points from George and James Harden.
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