3 Studs, 2 duds from Mavericks' blowout Game 5 win over Clippers

Going into Wednesday night's game against the LA Clippers, the Dallas Mavericks were tied 2-2 with the LA Clippers after a Game 4 loss at the American Airlines Center on Sunday afternoon.

Dallas battled all the way back from being down by 31 points in Game 4, but their comeback fell short as James Harden couldn't be stopped in the clutch. Jason Kidd doubled down on his plan to give Harden the twos but not the threes, and this game plan ended up working out for them.

Dallas beat the Clippers 123-93 in LA on Wednesday, putting them in the driver's seat to go win this series.

3 Studs, 2 duds from Mavericks' blowout Game 5 win over Clippers

Dallas has plenty of momentum heading into Game 6 at home on Saturday, and several key Mavericks stepped up when they needed to most.

Losing tonight would have put tons of pressure on Dallas heading into Friday night's game, and closing this series out on Friday would give Luka Doncic some desperately needed rest due to his injured knee and his ongoing illness through this series.

Game 5 showed Dallas' ability to battle adversity, and there is tons of excitement building around this team.

Here are three studs and two duds from the Dallas Mavericks' crucial Game 5 win over the LA Clippers.

5. Stud - Luka Doncic

Heading into last night's game, Luka Doncic was struggling in this series according to his standards. He wasn't shooting the ball well, had some poor defense in Game 4, and clearly wasn't himself as he has been battling illness and has been injured.

In Game 5, Doncic got back on track as he finished with 35 points, seven rebounds, and 10 assists while shooting 14-26 from the field and 2-8 from downtown. He isn't shooting as well as he was during the regular season, but it can't be expected for him to be an elite shooter with his knee injury.

He isn't going to his step-back three as much as he was during the regular season, but everyone stepping up around him was huge in this win. Doncic was locked in during the second half of this game, and his ability to get to the rim was a positive sign in this game as he shied away from that in the past few games.

Another Doncic masterclass could be exactly what the Mavs need to send the Clippers home on Friday.