As a Dallas Mavericks fans, there are certain teams you just love to see Dallas beat. The LA Clippers happen to be one of those teams. Perhaps its because they have DeAndre Jordan on their team or Blake Griffin. Either way, its always fun to watch the Mavs defeat them.
Thursday night was no different as the Mavs knocked off Los Angeles 97-95. The game was very entertaining to watch. From the opening tip, both teams battled. Dallas jumped out to a 10-point lead in the second period but the Clippers finished the half on a 18-2 run.
The run was sparked by a four-point play as Wesley Matthews fouled J.J. Redick on a made three point basket. A technical foul on Rick Carlisle and a few more baskets quickly erased the 10-point lead. Not to be outdone, though, the Mavs started the second half on a 13-2 run to regain the lead.
With 5:29 to play in the third quarter, craziness ensued. J.J. Barea was called for a flagrant two foul after he shoved Blake Griffin to the ground. The flagrant foul meant he would be ejected for the rest of the game. Instead of allowing the ejection to hamper them, the Mavs used it as fuel.
.@dallasmavs upset the Clippers, 97-95; JJ Barea's ejection (below video) after Blake Griffin flop ignites the team & crowd #nba #mavericks pic.twitter.com/gYYPCLYD25
— Tamara Jolee (@TamaraJolee) March 24, 2017
Although Dallas is known more for there offense at times, it was the defense that won the game for them. After hitting the go-ahead bucket with 1:06 to play, Harrison Barnes stripped Griffin with under five seconds left on a potential go-ahead layup for the Clippers.
Redick had a great look to win the game for Los Angeles. With .9 seconds, he took the inbounds pass from Chris Paul and let a three pointer fly. His shot fell off the rim, giving the Mavs the victory.
How close was the game? There were 11 lead changes in the game. Dallas shot 46% while LA shot 45%. Dallas was 9/26 from three-point land. Los Angeles was 9/27. Both teams shot 67% from the free throw line. The two stats that really were different was rebounds and turnovers. The Clippers led in both of those. They outrebounded Dallas 45-34 and had 17 turnovers to only nine by the Mavs.
With the win, Dallas is now 31-40 and will host Toronto on Saturday night. The Mavs are currently 10th in the Western Conference and three games behind Denver for the final playoff spot.
Photo credit: Associated Press
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