Last season in the NBA Bubble, the Clippers defeated the injured Mavericks in the first-round of the playoffs, but Dallas has revenge on their minds this year and they are not afraid of Los Angeles. This was very apparent in Game 1 as Luka Doncic and the Mavs controlled this game from start-to-finish and had an answer to everything the Clippers threw at them. 

Defensively, Dallas played really well, but Luka Doncic showed why he deserved to be in this year’s MVP conversation, as he scored 31 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 11 assists for his third playoff triple-double in seven career playoff games. 

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Kawhi Leonard also had a fantastic game, scoring 26 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, as well as throwing down a poster dunk on Maxi Kleber, but the Clippers struggled in multiple areas in Game 1. They just did not look ready to play and Dallas looked locked-in as soon as they got to the Staples Center Saturday afternoon. 

If Game 1 told us anything about this Mavericks-Clippers series, it is that it is not going to be the same as last year with the Clippers controlling the series and that Los Angeles is really going to have to fight in order to move on and advance in the playoffs this year. 

With that said, let’s dive in and take a look at the three biggest takeaways from Game 1 between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Clippers.