Kawhi Leonard scored eight straight points late in the fourth quarter to force a Game 7 against the Dallas Mavericks.
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With their season on the line, the LA Clippers overcame a seven-point deficit in the third quarter of Game 6 to defeat the Dallas Mavericks 104-97. The two teams have gone back and forth throughout the entire series and have claimed three wins each. Interestingly, neither side has won a game at home so far. They will square off for the final time this season at Staples Center on Sunday to determine who will face the Utah Jazz in the Eastern Conference semifinals. With a dominant performance in Game 6, Kawhi Leonard reminded all of us why he’s in the conversation as the league’s best player. He tied a playoff career high with 45 points, 29 of which came in the second half, on 18-for-25 shooting. The Clippers carried a two-point lead with just over three minutes remaining in the game, when Leonard dropped eight straight points to keep their championship hopes alive.
? 45 PTS / 18-25 FG / 5-9 3FG
A dominant effort from @kawhileonard. pic.twitter.com/1EfnEYyC0f
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) June 5, 2021
“He destroyed us,” Luka Doncic said of Leonard after the loss. “That’s what it is. He had a hell of a game. That’s what he does.”
Leonard will have to excel once again in Sunday’s Game 7 if the Clippers are going to avoid elimination, and he has experienced both sides of the win or go home scenario.
Big time bucket. pic.twitter.com/NAvfsJ3wOR
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) June 5, 2021
No doubt, the pressure was on the Clippers in Game 6. Faced with elimination, Clippers managed to steal a third straight game in Dallas. But now they play the real Game 7, on their home court, where they have yet to win this postseason. Whatever pressure the Clippers felt in Game 6, it will be even greater Sunday.
“I don’t live in the past,” said Leonard, the two-time NBA Finals MVP. “It’s about tomorrow. That’s all it’s about, taking what I see from tonight’s game and try to bring it to the next one.”
Meanwhile, Luka Doncic was not at his best in the previous two games. But he has been very impressive against the Clippers. He is averaging 35 points per game, along with 9.4 assists/PG and 7.2 rebounds/PG. Doncic’s form will be crucial if the Mavericks were to progress to the next round.
Luka’s locked in ?@AcmeBrick | #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/VzeUWJCjgs
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) June 5, 2021
The Mavericks bounced back from the first loss at home. Now they have to do it again as they seek the franchise’s first postseason series victory since the 2011 NBA Finals.
