The Mavericks and Clippers just completed the most entertaining game of this year’s postseason by far.
The dizzying contest featured the Clippers building a seemingly insurmountable 31-point lead. Dallas then came all the way back, only to fall short in the dying moments and go down 116-111, with the series now tied at 2-2.
It was a night full of remarkable shot-making, highlighted by Kyrie Irving finishing over three Clippers defenders, and James Harden taking over late in the piece with 13 points in the final 4:39.
This is unequivocally and objectively freaking insane from Kyrie Irving, if he did this in 1960s, they would have accused him of witchcraft pic.twitter.com/M93zojuMDP
— Oluwajomiloju (@JomiAdeniran) April 28, 2024
Harden finished with 33 points, six rebounds and seven assists on 12-17 shooting, while Irving put up 40 points, seven rebounds and five assists, albeit with seven turnovers.
Luka Doncic, for his part, notched 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, but he struggled shooting the ball, finishing 10-24 from the field.
Speaking after the game, Doncic said he didn’t do enough to help Irving lead Dallas to victory.
“I gotta help him more, I feel like I’m letting him down so I gotta be there,” Doncic said. “I gotta help him more, he’s giving everything he has. He’s been amazing for us the whole series.”
Doncic added that his knee was continuing to give him grief, but he said it was no excuse.
Harden, meanwhile, said his big performance was the result of an aggressive mindset entering the game, knowing he had to step up to give his team a chance on the road without Kawhi Leonard.
“I’m blessed to be able to change it up and be a facilitator or a scorer,” Harden said. “My mindset coming to this team was doing whatever it takes to win and get to the end goal. Whether that’s scoring or facilitating, I think it goes possession by possession and game by game.”
The Clippers and Mavericks will head back to LA for Game 5 on Wednesday with the series tied at 2-2.
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