Luka Doncic scores 35 points, leads Mavericks to 123-93 victory and 3-2 series lead over Clippers

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luka Doncic is playing on a sprained right knee that would probably sideline him in the regular season. The Dallas star also has been congested and ill for several days, fighting a bug that’s forcing him to blow his nose during timeouts.

Doncic simply refused to be slowed in Game 5 — not by multiple ailments, and certainly not by any Los Angeles Clippers during a blowout victory that put his Dallas Mavericks on the brink of the second round.

Doncic scored 20 of his 35 points in the second half and added 10 assists and seven rebounds, propelling the Mavericks to a 123-93 victory Wednesday night and a 3-2 lead in the 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 handed Los Angeles the biggest margin of defeat in its playoff history. Dallas needs one more win to claim its first playoff series victory since 2022 and only its third since winning the NBA title in 2011.