Orlando (USA), Aug. 24, LETA. National Basketball Association (NBA) star Luka Dončič threw the winning long shot in the last second of the extra-fourth quarter final of the Western Conference quarter-final, but scored a total of 43 points in the match and stood out with a “triple-double”, bringing Kristaps Porziņģis to Dallas .
The Mavericks won the Los Angeles Clippers in the first overtime with a score of 135: 133 (24:34, 34:32, 35:19, 28:36, 14:12), reaching a tie of 2-2 in a series of up to four wins.
Porziņģis was removed from the list of players at the last minute – he did not play due to his knee pain. Last year, Porziņģis broke the cross ligaments in his left leg, but this season he missed ten games because there was pain in his other knee.
Before the game, the injured players’ report stated that Porziņģis had a broken left foot heel, and his participation in the match was assessed as possible. Meanwhile, Mavericks leader Dončič stretched his ankle in the previous match, but on Sunday it was found that his injury was not serious, so the Slovenian went on the field.
He was the main forger of the Mavericks victory, standing out with 43 points, 17 rebounds and 13 assists. He was tricked with 25 points by Tracy Berk, and 21 points went to Tim Harvard the junior.
Opponents scored 36 points for Louis Williams, 32 points for Kava Lenard, and Paul George scored three of the 14 shots and settled for nine points.
The Dallas team quickly got into the drivers and at one point in the first quarter it was separated from the Clippers by 15 points. In the next lap, the Los Angeles team’s lead reached 21 points, but it was gradually cleared and the half ended with 66:58 in favor of the Clippers.
In the second half, the Clippers lost energy and in the middle of the third quarter, after Harvard’s throw, the Mavericks took the lead from the bottom of the basket (75:73). The Dallas team broke the fight with a 16-point break, but as a result they failed to move away.
In the first half of the fourth quarter, the team led by Rick Carlisle reached 12 points. Opponents approached the result several times, but Dončič’s and Harandēj’s long shots helped to maintain the lead. True, less than two minutes before the end of regular time, Lenards reached 117: 119 with a “threesome”.
50 seconds before the final whistle at 121: 119 in favor of the Mavericks, Williams was stopped at the time of the long shot, so he deserved three free throws. One of the league’s best reservists threw two of the three “penalties” and equalized the score.
The teams then exchanged unsuccessful attacks, but the Dalas had another chance to pull out the victory 0.2 seconds before the final whistle. Dončičs threw the ball from the car to the shield, but none of the team members put the ball in the basket.
The fight continued in overtime, in which the Mavericks took the lead after a two-minute game with Berk’s long shot (126: 125). George regained two points, but 73 seconds before the final whistle, Berk once again weighed the cups in favor of the Mavericks – 128: 127. After Williams’ three-point move, the Clippers returned to the front, but 50 seconds before the end of overtime, Dončič equalized.
He also scored the next points, reaching 132: 130 19 seconds before the end of the overtime after a 360-degree turn. In their attack, the Clippers played the ball against Marcus Morris, who scored 133: 132 in favor of his opponents with a “threesome” nine seconds before the end.
In his last defense, the Los Angeles team could afford to break the rules once, which they did, so 3.7 seconds before the final signal, the ball was re-entered the game. It was received by Dončič, who, playing against Reggio Jackson, freely released the long shot with a trick and threw the ball with the final whistle. The Slovenian litter reached its goal and the Mavericks celebrated the victory with 135: 133.
The fifth game in the series will take place on Tuesday.
NBA teams played eight matches before the playoffs to determine the final place distribution before the playoffs began. The Mavericks finished seventh in the Western Conference, while the Clippers finished second.
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