Luka Dončić showed up for Game 5. The Clippers didn’t. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 123-93 on Wednesday night for a variety of reasons, but the main one that emerged was this:

The three All-Star Clippers who were supposed to lead the offense in a crucial Game 5 lost their way and did not come back while Dončić and the Mavericks regained the lead in the series. The series will continue to be decided in Game 6 in Dallas on Friday (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

In a series that was previously tied 2-2, a club advances 81.7% of the time when they win Game 5.

Despite suffering from an upper respiratory infection and a damaged right knee from Game 3, Dončić was the best player on the court. He acknowledged prior to the game that he probably would not have participated in a regular-season game in his current state, leaving the Clippers looking sick:

Maxi Kleber had a breakout performance, scoring 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from three-point range. Even Kyrie Irving had his moments, like as when he lobbed in an incredibly loud alley-oop:

With 12 lead changes between the sides in the first quarter, the game was competitive from the off. After building a modest lead early in the second quarter, the Mavericks quickly extended it to double digits with a fast run in the last minutes of the period.

But Los Angeles’s real loss in the game occurred in the third quarter. The Mavericks’ offense stayed up with the Clippers, scoring just one field goal in the first seven minutes to put the game well out of reach. The fourth quarter was almost done when the backups arrived.

The biggest defeat in Clippers playoff history was caused by a 30-point deficit.

Though it would be unjust to use one play—that is, Irving’s steal of a pass from George—as proof that a team lacked the will to win, there was one particularly harsh play in the third. As a result, Irving and Dončić faced Westbrook in a two-on-one fastbreak. Unfortunately, Westbrook was the only Clipper who had bothered to run back, so his tough defense blew up the play.

The Clippers are no strangers to falling behind in a series even though they were without the player who gave them the contender status. They prevailed in both of the games that Leonard failed to win earlier in the series, but Game 5 made it clear how hard it will be to rally in Games 6 and 7.

Game 5 will be the Clippers’ last home game in Crypto.com Arena before they move east to the luxurious Intuit Dome in Inglewood next season, assuming the Mavericks win the series on Friday. It would not be a classy way out.