LA Clippers advance in West, will face Utah Jazz-Denver Nuggets series winner

Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic (77) watches as Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard (2) scores during the second half of an NBA first round playoff game Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis) | AP

The LA Clippers wrapped up their first-round NBA playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday afternoon, winning Game 6 111-97. The 2nd-seeded Clippers won the series against the 7th-seeded Mavericks four games to two, taking the final two games to advance.

Should the Utah Jazz win Game 6 of their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night, they would face LA in the Western Conference semifinals, with Game 1 on Tuesday night in the NBA’s bubble in Orlando.

On Sunday afternoon, Dallas led by five at the end of the first quarter, but the high-powered Mavericks scored just 17 points in the second quarter as the Clippers overtook them. In the third quarter, LA stretched its lead to 23, but Dallas cut it to six in the fourth quarter.

The Mavericks got no closer, though, as Kawhi Leonard took over for the Clippers, scoring eight points in the next two minutes. He finished with 33 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and five steals. Luka Doncic countered with 38 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for Dallas, which was without big man Kristaps Porzingis because of injury.

If the Jazz win Sunday, Game 1 Tuesday would start at 6:30 p.m. MDT.

from Deseret News https://ift.tt/2YOpTZ4