Mavericks: Luka Doncic and Kawhi Leonard put on a show in the playoffs

Dallas Mavericks: Luka Doncic and Kawhi Leonard put on an incredible show in the playoffs

The Dallas Mavericks were back in the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Luka Doncic led the way as he leaped into the MVP conversation in his second NBA season. The 21-year-old proved to be an unstoppable offensive force that kept the Mavs in every game.

Heading into the Walt Disney World restart, Dallas was hoping to move out of seventh and avoiding playing the LA Clippers in the first round. The Mavericks won just three of eight seeding games sealing their matchup with Kawhi Leonard and the Clips.

The series turned into one of the best toe to toe battles of the playoffs. Both Doncic and Leonard were outstanding and put on a show for fans. Let us take a closer look at the showdown.

Luka Doncic and Kawhi Leonard put on an incredible show as Dallas Mavericks fell to Clippers

The first-round series began with Kawhi dropping 29 points to top Luka’s record for points in a playoff debut at 42. Dallas evened the series as Doncic had 28 with Leonard scoring 35. The Mavericks superstar injured his ankle in Game 3 as Kawhi dropped 36 to put the Clippers back in front. Doncic had the best performance of the series in Game 4. He battled through the ankle sprain for a 43-point triple-double including sinking the game-winning buzzer-beater.

Kawhi averaged 32.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 2.3 steals per game as his Clippers topped the Mavs in six games. Doncic produced 31.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 8.7 assists, and 1.2 steals in his NBA playoff experience. See the highlights from their showdown below.

Luka versus Kawhi was one of the best of the year. Expect the two foes to do battle again in the playoffs in 2021. Both teams are expecting to finish near the top of the Western Conference. It will be another fun series if the Mavericks and Clippers matchup again. Do not be surprised to see Dallas grab the upper hand in the rematch.