Luka Doncic scored 20 of his 35 points in the second half and added 10 assists and seven rebounds, propelling the Dallas Mavericks to a 123-93 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 5 on May 1, 2024, and a 3-2 lead in their first-round series.

Maxi Kleber hit five 3-pointers and Kyrie Irving added 14 points for the Mavericks, who clamped down on the Clippers defensively and won decisively in Los Angeles for the second time in the series. Dallas moved to the brink of its first playoff series victory since 2022 and only its third since winning the NBA title in 2011.

Doncic is playing on a sprained right knee that limited him at times in the series, but the Slovenian superstar clearly got more comfortable and more dangerous as Game 5 went on. He had 14 points in the third quarter while the Mavs stretched their lead to 25 and eventually took an 89-69 advantage into the fourth, where the Clippers never threatened to do an imitation of Dallas' rally back from a 31-point deficit in Game 4.

Game 6 is Friday night in Dallas. If necessary, Game 7 will be back in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Paul George and Ivica Zubac scored 15 points apiece for the Clippers, who played their second straight game and third of the series without Kawhi Leonard. LA's leading scorer has right knee inflammation at the most critical point in the season, and his teammates were unable to win without him in Game 5 after doing it twice earlier in the series.

Leonard's fellow stars couldn't step up in Game 5, and Dallas' defense deserved much of the credit.

George went 4 for 13 and missed four of his six 3-point attempts, failing to assert himself offensively except during a brief stretch of the third quarter.

Harden had another perplexing playoff performance, going 2 for 12 and missing six of his seven 3s. Russell Westbrook also struggled off the bench, missing his first eight shots before finally scoring in the third quarter.

Both teams pulled their starters midway through the fourth quarter, grabbing rest for the potential closeout in Dallas.

FULL STORY: https://www.wfaa.com/article/sports/nba/mavericks/luka-doncic-leads-mavericks-victory-series-lead-over-clippers/287-c2e3d8c9-7d6b-457d-9e3f-a2e629de5826

0:00 - Luka Doncic

3:54 - Maxi Kleber

8:27 - Derrick Jones Jr.

11:46 - Jason Kidd