Kawhi Leonard’s near triple-double helped power the Clippers’ Game 7 win over the Mavericks on Saturday.
LOS ANGELES — As a 19-point fourth-quarter lead shrunk to seven with two minutes to go and anxiety began to spread at Staples Center, Kawhi Leonard got the kind of help he did not get last year in Game 7. Leonard hit Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris Sr. for two straight 3-pointers that propelled the LA Clippers back into the second round with a 126-111 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Nearly nine months after suffering an embarrassing Game 7 defeat in the bubble, the Clippers are returning to the Western Conference semifinals to face the top-seeded Utah Jazz by exorcising some of their playoff demons. They overcame yet another spectacular performance from Luka Doncic with a 32-6 run in the second half to survive this first round in seven games. This time, the Clippers return to the second round having pulled off their own playoff comeback, staving off elimination by beating the Mavericks two games in a row. Leonard and Doncic engaged in an incredible first-round duel and both stars rose to the Game 7 occasion.
