The Mavericks rallied from 23 down but fell to the Clippers 116-103, as Cooper Flagg scored 25 and Marvin Bagley III added 21 in a short-handed effort.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Kawhi Leonard poured in 34 points on 11-of-19 shooting, including six 3-pointers, as the Los Angeles Clippers survived a spirited second-half comeback from the Dallas Mavericks and pulled away for a 116-103 victory at Intuit Dome on Tuesday night.
Darius Garland added 22 points and four assists for Los Angeles, which improved to 41-38 with the win. Brook Lopez contributed nine points, 11 rebounds, and four blocked shots, anchoring a Clippers front line that proved difficult for Dallas to crack all night.
The Mavericks fell to 25-54 despite outscoring the Clippers 53-50 over the middle two quarters and briefly holding the lead in the third. Dallas was without Daniel Gafford (right shoulder impingement), Kyrie Irving (left knee surgery), Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery), Quentin Grimes (right plantar fascia strain), Brandon Williams (illness), and P.J. Washington, who was listed as a non-participant due to left elbow soreness.
Cooper Flagg led Dallas with 25 points and nine rebounds despite a 9-of-25 shooting night, while Marvin Bagley III delivered 21 points and nine rebounds in his return from injury. Ryan Nembhard finished with 12 points, seven assists, and six rebounds off the bench, and Max Christie chipped in 12 points.
Los Angeles erupted for 39 first-quarter points, building a lead that stretched to 23 before Dallas began chipping away. The Mavericks held the Clippers to 50 points over the second and third quarters combined, eventually pulling even and taking the lead in the third period. But Los Angeles steadied itself, outscoring Dallas 27-19 in the final quarter to put the game away.
"The group didn't get off to the start we wanted," Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said. "We had some good looks that just didn't go down. But the group kept fighting, and we found ourselves back in the game and actually took the lead."
Flagg's evening included one of the more memorable plays of the night — a dunk over Lopez that drew a roar from visiting fans and silenced the "overrated" chants that had been raining down from the Intuit Dome crowd.
"I wouldn't say it motivated me," Flagg said of the chants. "That's something I've heard since high school, so it kind of brought me back a little bit. The whole wall thing is kind of funny — you don't see that in the league very often."
Flagg, who has posted back-to-back dominant performances entering Tuesday's game, was measured about his 9-of-25 night from the field.
"I thought it was solid," he said. "Like Coach said, we missed a lot of easy looks that usually fall. But those are the shots we want to get, so for the most part, I think it was pretty solid."
Bagley's return gave Dallas a lift it badly needed. The veteran big man was active early when most of his teammates struggled to generate offense, posting efficient numbers on 8-of-11 shooting.
"Coming back from injury, I thought he was really good tonight," Kidd said. "His energy — he was one of the few that were scoring for us early. Him and Cooper were really the only ones producing there for us."
Bagley credited staying within the flow of the offense for his production.
"Just playing the game and letting it come to me — not forcing," he said. "Playing within the flow, what we were trying to do, understanding what they were trying to do, and just getting to my spots and being effective."
Dallas generated 15 offensive rebounds and 23 fast-break points, and kept turnovers to nine for the game. The Mavericks shot just 35.0% from the field and 18.2% from 3-point range, going 6-of-33 beyond the arc.
"We created a lot of good looks offensively from three and in the paint," Kidd said. "We just missed some bunnies tonight that we made in the last game."
Kidd was candid about the challenge of managing a thin roster on a back-to-back.
"We didn't have PJ, Gaff, or B-Will tonight, so it's next-man-up," he said. "Once we know who's available, we'll make the game plan and go from there."
The Mavericks also lost a player to a hip contusion during the game, though Kidd declined to rule the player out for Wednesday's contest.
The Mavericks continue a three-game road trip Wednesday night against the Phoenix Suns.