LA Clippers prevail in Game 1 over Mavericks without Kawhi Leonard: ‘We’ve still got more than enough’

LOS ANGELES - In the days leading up to Game 1 in the NBA playoff series between the Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks, a major storyline was whether superstar Kawhi Leonard would take the court as he’d been battling inflammation in his right knee for weeks.

Many questioned and some even doubted if the Clippers would have a chance without him, especially against the red-hot Mavericks, who fought their way from being a play-in team to the West’s No. 5 seed. 

Leonard missed the final eight games of the regular season with the injury and the Clippers persevered without him – notably in games against the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, and Cleveland Cavaliers.  

Leonard was ruled out for Game 1 in the playoffs and continues to take things day by day. 

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"We’ve been here before. We’ve been down this road time and time again," Paul George said. 

George missed the playoffs last year due to injury and the Clippers have not had a healthy Paul George and Kawhi Leonard in the postseason since 2020. This season, the Clips came in prepared for rough waters.

On Sunday afternoon, they wasted no time getting to business. The Clippers dominated on both ends of the floor and kept the crowd roaring inside the Crypto.com Arena throughout the game. The applause grew even louder during the moments Russell Westbrook played to the home crowd. In his element, he looked like a rock star. 

James Harden led the Clippers with 28 points and 8 assists, Paul George had 22 points and 6 rebounds, and big man Ivica Zubac had his postseason career-high with 20 points and 15 rebounds. 

The Clippers did not take their foot off the gas and beat the Mavs 109-97.

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"We worked seven and a half months to get to this point," Lue said after the game. "The guys were locked in. Like I said, we understand when a guy goes out, everyone has to step up. It’s not one man, it’s not two men, everyone has to be good. I thought tonight was a step in the right direction as far as everyone stepping up in Kawhi’s absence and we got a huge win."

Slowing down Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving is no easy task and the Clippers know they still have a lot of work to do in the best-of-seven series. Lue said he opted to start Amir Coffey in Leonard's place because he felt Coffey and Terance Mann would be a solid defensive duo. 

"We knew they were going to get shots and were going to make baskets, they’re special. I thought we made it tough for them as much as we could," George said.

With more pressure on George's shoulders, he emphasized it was a team effort and praised his teammates for stepping up. 

"Obviously, Kawhi puts us well over the top, but we’ve still got more than enough," George told reporters during the post-game press conference "The luxury we have is just experience with James, myself, Russ, Norm’s been big in playoff battles."

George also acknowledged Zubac's big game. 

"He understood his presence and he was awesome," George said. "He was controlling the paint…I just thought he dominated." 

While the series is off to a great start for the Clippers, they know Leonard is needed to continue advancing.

"We know how good we can be, we’re greatly coached, we’ve got a great locker room, we’ve got more than enough," George said. "We’re going to hold it down until Kawhi gets back. Kawhi is the piece we do need if we plan on winning on it all." 

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Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday, April 23 at 7 p.m. in downtown Los Angeles.