Hobbled by an unspecified right knee injury, Mavericks’ Luka Doncic clearly hasn’t been his usual dominant self in this first-round playoffs series — not up to his standards in past games against the Clippers, regular-season and playoffs.

After Los Angeles’ 116-111 victory on Sunday afternoon in American Airlines Center, tying the series at 2-2, Doncic’s drop-off is most glaringly reflected in his statistics. He shooting 38.6% from the field, including of 13-of-49 (26.5%) on 3-pointers.

It’s clear Doncic’s defensive falloff since he sustained the knee injury during the first quarter of Game 3. Doncic was whistled for two fouls in the first 2:23 of Game 4 as he struggled to stay in front of Clippers attackers, a pattern that continued through the game as Los Angeles hunted him.

“It’s hurting, obviously, but it shouldn’t be an excuse, man,” Doncic said. “We just came out a little sloppy. We’ve got to do way better than that.”

It might seem like quibbling after a game in which Doncic had a triple-double — 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. But anyone who has watched Doncic throughout his career, this season especially, knows he isn’t his usual self.

On Sunday he shot 10-of-24 from the field, including 1-of-9 on 3-pointers.

When asked specifically about his ability to move laterally and how that affects his defense, Doncic acknowledged it’s a problem. He was assigned to guard Amir Coffey, but Clippers star James Harden hunted Doncic in pick-and-rolls.

“I mean, yeah, I was in foul trouble,” Doncic said. “We said we wanted to try to limit Harden’s 3s. I was just trying not to give him 3s. Obviously, it wasn’t good, especially me.”

Doncic not being himself is also reflected in his postgame interviews following Games 3 and 4. Doncic’s voice is raspy and he sounds congested. After Game 4, he was asked whether the congestion makes it harder to breathe during games, thus affecting his energy level.

“It’s nothing,” he said. “We lost the game. Like I said before, for the knee, it shouldn’t be an excuse. I’m out there trying to play, trying to play a lot of minutes, trying to play hard. But sometimes you don’t have the perfect situation. So you’ve just got to go through it and do better.”

As Doncic noted, the Mavericks still not only rallied from a 31-point deficit but took a 105-104 lead on Kyrie Irving’s driving layup with 2:15 left. Irving scored 40 points, all of them after the first quarter.

“I have to help him more,” Doncic said. “I feel like I am letting him down so I have to be there. I have to help him more. He’s giving everything that he has. He’s been amazing for us the whole series.”

Twitter: @townbrad

Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

Five thoughts from the Dallas Mavericks’ 116-111 loss in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers:

Bottom line

With a victory at home in Game 4, the Mavericks had an opportunity to take a commanding 3-1 lead in this best-of-7 first-round series. How commanding? Entering this season’s playoffs, teams that have taken a 3-1 series lead have gone on to win 95.4% of the time: 268-13.

By losing Sunday afternoon, Dallas lost homecourt advantage and the series is tied 2-2. That sets up a pivotal Game 5 on Wednesday in Los Angeles. In NBA history, when series are tied at 2-2, the Game 5 winner goes on to win the series 81.7% of the time: 188-42.

The Rally

The Clippers took a 55-24 lead after James Harden’s 3-pointer with 5:43 left in the second quarter. Dallas stormed back by scoring 52 of the next 73 points to pull within 78-76 on a Kyrie Irving 3-pointer with 1:36 left in the third quarter.

The Clippers pushed the advantage back up to 92-81, but a Derrick Jones Jr. 3-pointer with 8:31 left in the game started another rally. When Luka Doncic’s 3-pointer with 5:03 left tied the score at 98, it marked the game’s first tie since it was 0-0.

Kyrie Irving’s layup with 2:14 left gave Dallas its first lead, 105-104, since it was 8-7 in the game’s opening minutes.

Paul George erupts

The self-anointed Paul “Playoff P” George entered Game 4 averaging 40% shooting while scoring only 51 points for the series, including just 9 points in Game 3. In Games 2 and 3 he totaled the same number of fouls as field goals: 10.

But in Game 4, George scored 16 points in the first quarter alone and had 26 by halftime to finish with 33. He was especially deadly from 3-point range, making 7-of-10 attempts.

No Kawhi, no problem

Clippers president Lawrence Frank announced before the game that there had been an “organizational decision” to sit six-time All-Star and two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, due to a return of soreness and inflammation in his right knee.

Frank said it was clear to everyone in the organization, including Leonard, that he wasn’t himself in Game 3, when he scored 9 points and pulled down 9 rebounds while being limited to 25 minutes of court time.

“The obvious question I know is coming: ‘When’s he coming back?’ I can’t tell you a timeline,” Frank said. “I wish I had a crystal ball. It will just basically be until he can show that he can make all the movements that he needs to make. That’s when he’ll come back. That will be the timeframe.”

Much like when they played without Leonard in Game 1, the Clippers jumped out to a big early lead. In Game 1 they led 34-22 after one quarter. In Game 4 they 39-16 after one quarter.

Dallas defense falters

The Clippers scored 93 points in Game 2 and 90 in Game 3, marking the lowest back-to-back outputs by Mavericks opponents this season. On Sunday afternoon, though, the Clippers shot 61% in the first quarter and 54% for the game to finish at 116 points.

The center position has been one of turmoil for the Luka Doncic-led Dallas Mavericks. Last off-season, they attempted to end this uncertainty by taking a potential franchise center with the 12th overall pick. They then selected a former number one overall recruit in the 7-foot-1 Dereck Lively II out of Duke. 

In his rookie season, Lively II missed over 20 games due to injury, but impressed in his time on the court. He started in 42 of his 55 appearances, averaging 23.5 minutes in each along with 8.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.7 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game on a scorching efficiency of 72.8 TS%. With his stellar two-way play catching lobs on offense and protecting the rim on defense, Lively II made quite the impression on NBA viewers. Throughout the regular season, he was commonly regarded as one of the very best rookies in the league. As All-Rookie teams are announced, expect to see his name, perhaps on the First Team.

As Dallas has progressed to the playoffs as the fifth seed in the West, Lively II has brought his talents to the big stage. He’s come off the bench in all three games with veteran Daniel Gafford filling the starting center role, but Lively II has outperformed him and earned more minutes. In the Mavericks’ huge wins in Game 2 and Game 3, the rookie’s vertical spacing and rim protection has been incredibly impactful alongside the Luka and Kyrie Irving backcourt. He brings advantages in these aspects of the game over the smaller Gafford, who has also had struggles containing Clippers center Ivica Zubac’s physical interior play. In 15 minutes on the floor in Game 3, Lively II scored 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting while sending back two shots. 

In today’s Game 4, Lively II and the Mavs will look to take a commanding 3-1 lead. Lively II will likely come off the bench again, but with a strong performance, he has the potential to fill minutes and make all the difference in Dallas’ efforts to win the game.

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