{"id":704653,"date":"2026-04-08T05:35:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T05:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/704653\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T05:35:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T05:35:18","slug":"clippers-squander-big-early-lead-but-hold-off-mavs-field-level-media-professional-sports-content-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/704653\/","title":{"rendered":"Clippers squander big early lead but hold off Mavs – Field Level Media – Professional sports content solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points and Darius Garland added 22 as the Los Angeles Clippers improved their play-in tournament seeding with a 116-103 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday at Inglewood, Calif.<\/p>\n

John Collins scored 12 points and Derrick Jones Jr. added 11 points with 10 rebounds as the eighth-place Clippers (41-38) moved a full game ahead of the ninth-place Portland Trail Blazers.<\/p>\n

The Clippers and Blazers will meet Friday at Portland in the chase for a preferred eighth-place play-in spot. Los Angeles improved to 7-2 since an overtime victory at Dallas on March 21.<\/p>\n

Cooper Flagg scored 25 points and Marvin Bagley III added 21 as the Mavericks (25-54) fell to 2-9 since March 16. The 19-year-old Flagg reached 25 points for the 21st time in his rookie season and was coming off consecutive games of 45 and 51 points.<\/p>\n

Max Christie and Ryan Nembhard each scored 12 points for Dallas, which lost for the third time in four games against Los Angeles this season.<\/p>\n

The Clippers got off to a fast start by taking a 17-0 lead just over three minutes into the game. Los Angeles led by as many as 23 points in the opening quarter and finished the period with a 39-26 advantage.<\/p>\n

The Mavericks continued to chip away, pulling within 65-55 at halftime then taking their first lead at 78-77 on a 3-pointer from Klay Thompson with 3:20 remaining in the third.<\/p>\n

The Clippers closed the period on a 12-4 run, with Leonard scoring 10 of the points, and took an 89-84 advantage into the fourth.<\/p>\n

The Clippers took control with a late 13-3 run to take a 112-96 lead with 3:15 remaining following a dunk from Bennedict Mathurin.<\/p>\n

Leonard was 11-of-19 from the floor for the Clippers, who shot 44.6% as a team. The Mavericks shot 35% and managed to eliminate their big early deficit even while finishing 18.2% from 3-point range.<\/p>\n

Thompson scored 11 points for the Mavericks on 4-of-17 shooting from the floor, including 1-of-10 from 3-point range.<\/p>\n

\u2013Field Level Media<\/p>\n

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