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Dirk Nowitzki Honored in LA Clippers’ Victory over Dallas Mavericks

Seth Kimbrell|
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 25: Dirk Nowitzki #41 of the Dallas Mavericks and Head Coach Doc Rivers of the LA Clippers shake hands after a game on February 25, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 25: Dirk Nowitzki #41 of the Dallas Mavericks and Head Coach Doc Rivers of the LA Clippers shake hands after a game on February 25, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)

The LA Clippers took care of the Mavericks, 121-112. It was a solid victory for LA, but the story of the night was Doc Rivers honoring Dirk Nowitzki.

On Monday night, the Dallas Mavericks visited Staples Center for a game against the LA Clippers,  a team jostling for the playoffs. Led by an impressive bench showing, the Clippers secured a victory, overcoming a triple double by Mavericks wunderkind Luka Doncic.

The Clippers never trailed in the fourth quarter in what turned into a comfortable victory for the home team. The super-duo of Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell combined for 53 points, with Harrell pouring in a career-high 32 points. Lou had double digit assists with 10, and Montrezl scored incredibly efficiently, converting on 14 of his 17 field goal attempts.

Harrell continued an incredible year off the bench. The hyper-energetic big recorded his 37th game of 15 points or more, and his 20th of 20 points or more. The pairing of Sweet Lou and Montrezl has been dangerous all season, and much of that comes down to Harrell making a massive jump from his 3rd to 4th year.

The bench was the star of the night for Los Angeles; the starters only scored 50 points, while the bench put in 71. The Mavs bench couldn’t keep up, as Dallas non-starters only scored 24. Clippers fans aren’t surprised by this, though. The Clips lead the league in bench scoring with 53.2 points per game.

The Clippers’ rookies continued their up-and-down season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander failed to score, but at least managed 2 rebounds and 2 steals. Meanwhile, Landry Shamet shot 2-9 from the field (2-7 from 3) for 6 points, with 1 assist. Young big Ivica Zubac managed 7 points and 8 rebounds, with 3 assists.

On the defensive end, the Clippers continued to struggle with interior defense. Dwight Powell shot 10-11 for Dallas, scoring 24 points with 8 rebounds and 4 assists; backup big Maxi Kleber shot 4-6, with 10 points, 2 assists and a rebound.

Rookie sensation Luka Doncic stuffed the statsheet, notching a triple double with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He did struggle taking care of the ball, however. The Clips forced 9 turnovers from the Slovenian.

The story of the night came with 9.4 seconds left, when Coach Doc Rivers called a timeout and got on the microphone to encourage a standing ovation for Dirk Nowitzki.

When asked about it postgame, Doc Rivers said, “I had a timeout. I didn’t plan it.” He mentioned not doing the same for Dwyane Wade when the Heat played the Clippers, saying “I thought we didn’t give Wade the right sendoff. I wasn’t gonna let that happen again.”

With this victory, the Clippers take sole possession of the 7th seed. They’re half a game behind the Jazz for the 6th seed, two games behind Houston for the 5th seed and four games behind the Trail Blazers for the 4th seed. This gives LA some breathing room, as the Kings are now a full two games behind them in the 9th seed.

The 34-28 Clippers have two games with huge implications coming up. Tomorrow, 2/27, they take on the Jazz; if LA comes out on top, they’ll jump Utah in the standings. They then face the Kings on Friday in a game that could put even more breathing room between the Clippers and the lottery.

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