LOS ANGELES — Clippers coach Tyronn Lue’s message to his team after losing Game 5 by 30 points was simple and direct.
“I didn’t have a message,” he said.
Because really, what was there to say after the Dallas Mavericks trampled all over them and possibly their postseason dreams in a 123-93 loss on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. The lopsided loss left the Clippers down, 3-2, and facing elimination in the best-of-seven first-round series that now heads to Dallas for Game 6 on Friday.
If necessary, Game 7 will be back in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Another home game won’t be necessary, though, if the Clippers don’t improve or play with the sense of urgency that was missing in Game 5.
“We know how to win. We know we won two games,” center Ivica Zubac said. “We have got to be better. We got to be more physical. We got to play with desperation. We got to have better effort.”
The effort needs to be focused on stopping Mavericks star Luka Doncic, who went off for a game-high 35 points on 14-of-26 shooting and had seven rebounds and 10 assists despite playing with a head cold and a lingering sprained right knee.
“We knew at some point that Luka was going to have a Luka game,” Lue said. “We’re not going to hang our heads. We got to win four games. We go to Dallas, Game 6 on Friday and we’ll be ready to go.”
Most likely, the Clippers will be traveling east without Kawhi Leonard, who missed his third game in the series because of inflammation in his surgically repaired right knee. Lue said Leonard’s status is “a day-to-day thing and when he’s feeling good and medical says he’s clear to go and that’s what we’ll do.”
Until then, the Clippers need James Harden and Paul George to continue to lead. But unlike the previous two games, George and Harden couldn’t fill the void left by Leonard in Game 5. The two never appeared in sync Wednesday.
For one, their 3-point attempts didn’t fall. They finished a combined 3 for 13…
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