Los Angeles Clippers steam into second round with victory over Dallas Mavericks
The Clippers became the first home winners in their series, with two-time finals MVP Kawhi Leonard pouring in 28 points for the hosts.
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Your support makes all the difference.The Los Angeles Clippers powered into the Western Conference semi-finals by taking game seven of their series against the Dallas Mavericks 126-111 on Sunday.
With Kawhi Leonard scoring 28 points and Marcus Morris 23, the Clippers became the first home side to win a match in an extraordinary series in which the away team won the first six games of a playoff contest for the first time in NBA history.
The fourth-seeded Clippers will now play the top-seeded Utah Jazz, starting on Tuesday night in Salt Lake City.
Paul George had 22 points, 10 assists and six rebounds for the Clippers, whose bench players outscored Dallas’s by 27-6.
Luka Doncic had 46 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds for the Mavs, who have not won a post-season series since claiming the championship in 2011.
The Atlanta Hawks struck a crucial first blow in their second-round series by winning away 128-124 in a thriller against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Trae Young had 35 points for the Hawks, 25 of them coming in the first half as the visitors scored 17 unanswered points to take a 74-54 lead into half-time.
Atlanta hung on narrowly despite being outscored 41-29 in the last quarter.
Young also had 10 assists and was supported by John Collins and Bogdan Bogdanovic, who each scored 21 points.
Joel Embid recorded 39 points and nine rebounds for Philadelphia, while Seth Curry scored 21 points and Tobias Harris had 20 with 10 rebounds.