3 important takeaways from Dallas Mavericks wild win over LA Clippers

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the LA Clippers 103-101 in a wild contest on Nov. 15 as superstar Luka Doncic went for a 35-point double-double. It appeared Dallas would cruise to a victory after the opening half, but the Clippers fought back to make things interesting. Ultimately, the Mavs made just enough open shots to move to 8-5 on the season.

The Clippers used a balanced effort on the second night of a back-to-back. Paul George led the way with 23 points, but Nic Batum scored 22 on seven of seven shooting from 3-point range to get LA back into it. Credit to the Clips for not giving up and making things tough on Dallas on Tuesday night.

Dorian Finney-Smith and Reggie Bullock stepped up and found their jumpers in the fourth quarter as Dallas went for 34 points in the final 12 minutes to secure the win. Here are three takeaways from the Nov. 15 victory over the LA Clippers.

Takeaway from Dallas Mavericks win over Clippers: 3. Blown leads are a problem

The Mavs looked like they had the game wrapped up in the first half. The Clippers scored just 32 points in the first 24 minutes, and Dallas was up 22 at the break, but things fell apart quickly after that.

LA exploited the Mavs lack of playmaking around Luka Doncic. They were hard doubling the 23-year-old superstar and forcing the ball out of his hands. Doncic was finding the open man, but the jumpers were not falling in the third quarter.

Dallas needed someone to put the ball on the floor and attack the rim. Luka got them up to 15 points in the third period by freeing himself enough to get downhill in the final minutes.

The Mavericks took their foot off the gas pedal again, which allowed the Clippers to work their way back into the contest. Dallas won a clutch game, but it never should have been there. The Mavs were in control, and they could have cruised to an easy win on the first night of a back-to-back. Instead, they let LA back in the game, and the Mavericks had to claw out a victory.