Paul George fires for 35 points to lead Clippers to Game 5 blow out win over Mavericks
Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic combine for 73 points as Nuggets beat Jazz to stave off elimination
Wednesday 26 August 2020 06:39, UK
Paul George and Kawhi Leonard became the first duo to score 30-plus points in 30 or fewer minutes as the Clippers blew out the Mavericks to take a 3-2 series lead.
Dallas Mavericks 111-154 LA Clippers
Paul George and Kawhi Leonard made sure the LA Clippers had short memories in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.
After blowing a 21-point lead and losing on an overtime buzzer-beater in Game 4, the Clippers responded early and often behind George and Leonard, setting franchise playoff records for most points, three-pointers and shooting percentage in a 154-111 win.
George bounced back from three straight sub-par performances against Dallas to score 35 points while Leonard finished with 32 points and seven rebounds for the Clippers, who took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Montrezl Harrell added 19 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for Los Angeles, who shot 63.1 per cent from the floor and 22-for-35 (62.9 per cent) from three-point range.
Mavericks star Luka Doncic finished with 22 points and eight rebounds. Tim Hardaway Jr scored 19 points, Trey Burke had 15 and Maxi Kleber finished with 12 for the Mavericks, who were without 7ft 3in forward Kristaps Porzingis.
Porzingis, who averaged 20.4 points and 9.5 rebounds during the regular season, missed his second straight game due to a sore right knee.
Live NBA:LA Clippers @ Dallas
The Clippers shot 16-for-24 from the floor and forced seven turnovers in the first quarter distance while building a 19-point lead. Dallas never got back within single digits.
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle was ejected for arguing with officials midway through the third quarter.
Utah Jazz 107-117 Denver Nuggets
Jamal Murray had 42 points, eight rebounds and eight assists while Nikola Jokic had 31 points as the Denver Nuggets stayed alive with a 117-107 victory over the Utah Jazz in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round series.
Murray scored 33 in the second half alone, while Michael Porter Jr had 15 points in the game and Jerami Grant added 13 to help the Nuggets rally. Denver now trail 3-2 in the series.
Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, while Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson had 17 each and Rudy Gobert had 11 points and 12 rebounds for Utah. Joe Ingles added 13 and Royce O'Neale scored 10.
The game was tied 101-all with under four minutes to play when Murray took over. He hit a fadeaway off an offensive rebound, drained a three-pointer and hit two step-back jumpers to put Denver ahead 110-101 with 1:20 remaining.
Mitchell split a pair of free throws, Gobert dunked to pull Utah within six at 110-104 but Murray passed to Jokic in the corner, and his three-pointer with 23 seconds left put Denver back up 113-104.
Mitchell banked in a three-pointer with 18.8 seconds remaining but Grant hit four free throws in the final 14 seconds to seal it.
