Luka Doncic has been mean to the Clippers in the past. In the nine previous games, he averaged 38.4 points and had at least 10 assists in eight of them. Now put Doncic up against the team that is still trying to find its feet in Los Angeles, and…

Because Doncic made 6 of 9 three-point shots, the Mavericks beat the Clippers 144–126 in a game that also went toward the In-Season Tournament. Doncic scored 44 points.

The game was over early in the third quarter when the Mavericks went on an 11-0 run to go ahead by 32 points. Kyrie Irving scored 27 points for Dallas.

The Clippers have lost all three games since getting James Harden. On Friday, their defense let them down, as they scored 126 points but still lost by 18.

Harden had 14 points when he made 3 of 6 shots and had three assists, but he still looked out of sync. The Clippers’ whole attack did too.

The Clippers have lost three games so far this season. Tyronn Lue is correct that there is still a lot of time to turn things around, but Los Angeles can’t get into a deeper hole than they already are.