Luka Doncic takes Dallas Mavericks in lead after defeating Los Angeles Clippers in Game 5

On Wednesday night, the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 5 by 123-93 as Luka Doncic scored 35 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds to take the lead by 3-2 in the first-round playoff series. 

For the Dallas Mavericks, Kyrie Irving scored 14 points and Maxi Klever scored 5 times with three-pointers to gain an advantage over Los Angeles Clippers defensive. Dallas is on the verge of its first playoff series victory since 2022, and only its third since winning the NBA championship in 2011.

“I think it was a very big game. We win, and now we’ve got to win one out of two. We’ve got to go back to Dallas and play the same way,” Luka Doncic said according to AP News.

Doncic played the game with an injury in the right knee as he got it many times in the series. He also stated that he was going through sickness, which congested him and led him to blow his nose continuously during Game 5. However, in the third quarter, he scored 14 points for the Dallas Mavericks as they took the lead of 25 points which resulted in the Dallas Mavericks going ahead by 89-69 in the fourth quarter.

Kawhi Leonard again missed the game for the Los Angeles Clippers

For the Los Angeles Clippers, Ivica Zubac and Paul George took the charge as both scored 15 points. Meanwhile, Kawhi Leonard missed the second back-to-back game of the series. LA's best scorer is dealing with right knee soreness at the most vital moment of the season, and his teammates were unable to win without him in Game 5 despite accomplishing so twice earlier in the series. Leonard's teammates couldn't deliver in Game 5, and Dallas' defence earned a lot of praise. The Clippers shot 9 for 35 on 3-pointers in Game 5, after making 18 in Game 4.

Los Angeles Clippers losing by 30 points is one of the greatest defeats in their team’s history of playoffs. Game 6 will take place on Friday and if required Game 7 will be held on Sunday.