No Kawhi, no problem? Clippers stood on business vs. Mavericks to tie series 2-2 (2024)

Late in the first half, Paul George sank yet another 3-pointer, giving the Clippers a 61-38 lead, then as he began to backpedal on defense folded his arms and struck the P.J. Washington pose.

Meme this.

It mattered not that, unlike Washington in Game 3, George looked toward his own bench and not Dallas’. Message delivered. Without Kawhi Leonard.

George and the Clippers made emphatic statements Sunday afternoon in American Airlines Center – George with 33 points and an especially crushing 3-pointer with 1:55 left – and Los Angeles by bolting to a 31-point lead and holding on for a 116-111 victory.

“Kawhi is our best player, but we have a ton of great players on this team,” said George, who sank 7 of his 10 3-point attempts to lead the Clippers’ 18-of-29 avalanche of treys. “We rely on ourselves, our confidence and our abilities. We relied on that. It carried us tonight.”

Instead of falling behind 3-1 in this series, as most expected after Clippers president Lawrence Frank announced that Leonard would not play in Game 4, Los Angeles tied the series at 2-2 and seized homecourt advantage entering Wednesday’s Game 5 in Los Angeles.

Instead of dwelling on Leonard’s absence and falling into a series hole that only 13 teams have escaped in 281 attempts, the Clippers shot 53%, got 33 points from James Harden and steeled themselves after Kyrie Irving gave Dallas a 105-104 lead with 2:15 left.

Specifically, it was George, on the next possession delivering a 3-point step-back from the deep right corner with 1:55 left to give L.A. the lead for good, 107-105, and it was George and Harden winning the clutch time duel of future Hall of Famers.

The NBA defines clutch time as the final five minutes of a game in which the margin is five points or fewer. In Sunday’s final five minutes, George and Harden scored all 18 of the Clippers’ points; Irving and Luka Doncic scored all of Dallas’ 13 points.

“They’re a great team,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said of the Mavericks. “Kyrie and Luka, they’re gonna make crazy shots and make some tough shots. We knew they would make a run, but also we didn’t think we’d come into the building and be up 31 points, either.

“So I told our team, ‘Just get the win however you’ve got to get it.’”

Lue and Frank said the Clippers organization is devastated for Leonard from a personal standpoint, but confident the team has enough manpower to forge further in the playoffs even with Leonard’s status in doubt.

The bottom line is that in the two games Leonard played in this series, L.A. is 0-2. The Clippers won both games that he didn’t play.

With Leonard, the aggregate score in this series is Dallas 197, Clippers 183.

Without Leonard: Clippers 225, Dallas 208.

“The obvious question I know is coming: ‘When’s he coming back?’” Frank said. “I can’t tell you a timeline. I wish I had a crystal ball. It will just basically be until he can show that he can make all the movements that he needs to make. That’s when he’ll come back.”

This is the third straight time in as many Clippers postseasons in which Leonard will have missed multiple games. He played in only two playoff games last season.

All the more reason that the Clippers went out and traded for 34-year-old Harden on Nov. 1.

“It’s huge,” Lue said. “When or Kawhi is out, we have another guy who can step up and take on that scoring load.”

George scored 26 of his points in the first half. Harden scored 15 of his points in the fourth quarter, including 5-of-6 shooting during clutch time on floaters – as Dallas coach Jason Kidd stayed with a smaller lineup, with Maxi Kleber at center.

Lue said that George appeared to tire in the second half, but when it most mattered, after Irving gave Dallas the 105-104, George hit the step-back 3 over Derrick Jones Jr., who contested the dribble and shot about as well as possible.

“I tried to jam him in the corner,” Jones said. “He made a move, stepped right back to the corner – hand and ball contested, he just hit a tough shot.”

Was Jones surprised the shot went in?

“Yeah, I’m surprised. I played great defense. Like I said, he hit a tough shot. Got to tip your hat and we’ll see them back in L.A.”

Twitter: @townbrad

Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.