Clippers give up 31-point lead, but knot series with Mavs

Paul George and James Harden each scored 33 points and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied after coughing up a 31-point lead for a 116-111 road win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 4 on Sunday, evening their Western Conference first-round playoff series.

Harden, who scored 13 points down the stretch, began his late-game flurry with 4:39 remaining when his first of three straight baskets scored in traffic in the paint broke a 98-98 tie. The stalemate, forced on a Luka Doncic 3-pointer that was part of his 29-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple-double, marked a pivotal moment in the Mavericks' comeback from a deep hole early.

Los Angeles -- headed home for Game 5 -- deluged Dallas with a 32-8 run over the final 7:47 of the first quarter. Another spurt of 16-8 over the first 6:17 of the second quarter opened the Clippers' 31-point lead, but the Mavericks wasted little time beginning their rally.

Dallas trimmed the deficit to 17 by halftime, then held Los Angeles to 16 third-quarter points to pull within four points going into the fourth. The Clippers pushed the lead back to 11 points midway through the final period before a 19-7 Mavericks run.

In response to Harden's three consecutive baskets, Kyrie Irving bookended a 3-pointer with a pair of baskets scored inside, the last of which gave Dallas a 105-104 lead with 2:15 remaining.

Irving scored a game-high 40 points on 14-of-25 shooting from the floor, including 6-of-12 from 3-point range. The rest of the Mavericks shot only 5-of-21 from deep, including 1-of-9 from Doncic.

Los Angeles, meanwhile, shot 18-of-29 from beyond the arc. Harden was 4-of-5, while Terance Mann, who scored 11 points, went 3-of-6 from outside. Norman Powell added another 11 points off the bench and shot 3-of-5 on 3-point attempts.

Among the most important of the Clippers' 18 3-pointers came from George, who ensured the first Mavericks advantage since the early first quarter was fleeting. He connected on the last of his seven made triples (on 10 attempts) in response to Irving's go-ahead lay-in, then Harden converted a successful and-one on the next possession.

The quick six points gave Los Angeles a lead it did not relinquish. With the win, the Clippers improved to 2-0 in the series with Kawhi Leonard on the sidelines. He missed Game 4 due to knee inflammation.

Sunday's contest was the series' first in which both teams scored 100-plus points.

--Field Level Media