Orlando (USA), Aug. 22, LETA. Latvian basketball player Kristaps Porziņģis scored 34 points in Orlando on Friday and won 13 rebounds in the third match of the National Basketball Association (NBA) elimination tournament, but Dallas “Mavericks” star Luka Dončičs was injured, his team suffered a loss.
In the third game of the Mavericks Western Conference quarterfinals with a score of 122: 130 (23:23, 31:45, 31:34, 37:28), the Los Angeles Clippers gave up 1-2 in the series with four wins.
Porziņģis spent 38 minutes and 21 seconds on the court in this match, sending six of the nine two-point shots, five of the nine long shots and all seven free throws in the basket.
In addition to the 13 rebounds, Liepāja also had one assists, one blocked throw, one error and three notes. The Mavericks let in with two more points than they threw.
Dončič stretched the ankle of his left leg four minutes before the end of the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, he returned for a few minutes, but quickly left the field and did not return to the game. Slovenia ended the duel with 13 points, ten rebounds and ten assists.
Tim Harvard Junior and Seth Curry also stood out among the Mavericks, each scoring 22 points.
Meanwhile, opponents had 36 points, nine balls under the baskets and eight assists, 18 points for Lendry Shemet, and 11 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Paul George.
The Mavericks were in the lead a couple of times, but the Dalasian advantage did not exceed three points. In the second quarter of the game, the Clippers took the lead, which was not lost in the rest of the fight.
Porziņģis tried his hand from a distance in the first attack, but his broadcast around the perimeter was not accurate. The next few minutes were more successful for him – a precise jump and a “threesome” (6: 7). The first quarter was similar, but in the second half, the Clippers scored a six-point lead, which was quickly sown, and the scoreboard reported 23:23 after 12 minutes.
In the second quarter, the Latvian got involved in the fourth minute, when the teams separated by two points (35:37). The Los Angeles team moved away a bit, but in the second half of the quarter, Porziņģis reduced the opponents several times with three accurate shots and seven points. The Mavericks lost half at 54:68.
In the second minute of the second half, Porziņģis hit the “Clippers” handicap from the top with ten balls in the basket from the top to ten points (58:68), but a little later he threw three “penalties” in a row (75:63). He was replaced at the end of the quarter, but returned to the field after Dončič’s injury. In the last minute of the cut, the Latvian basketball player threw a long shot, but before the final quarter, the opponents were already 17 points away.
Porziņģis was individually successful in the last eight minutes of the game, as he scored a total of 12 points, but the team did not have enough to play and celebrate the victory. Under the care of the Latvian, the advantage of “Clippers” was canceled several times and half a minute before the final whistle with a long shot from Liepaja it was reduced to eight points (122: 130), but in the final 30 seconds the result remained unchanged.
The fourth game in the series will take place on Sunday.
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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