What the Clippers said about the Mavericks after dominating Game 1

The Mavericks fell flat in Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series against the LA Clippers, losing 109-97.

Here’s what Clippers coach Tyronn Lue and players said after the game.

Tyronn Lue

The head coach, who won a championship with Kyrie Irving in Cleveland, talked about how LA’s game plan was to give Luka Doncic different looks and try to wear him down.

“He’s a great player. You gotta throw different looks at him, you gotta play hard, compete,” Lue said. “He’s gonna make some tough shots, as we saw tonight. Just make it hard, make him work, don’t let your guards down, don’t relax. And then when he makes tough shots, don’t get deflated.”

Paul George

George was limited to five points in the first half before finishing with 22, scoring half of his points in the fourth quarter.

“They did a great job of shutting the floor down,” George said. “They weren’t letting me play. They were pressuring up and then they were cutting the lanes off for me to drive and try to get to the rim.

“I thought they did a really good job of trying to make me uncomfortable. But I’ll be better. I’ll look at the film and see how I can be more efficient and just take what they give me.”

George also talked about the Clippers not being satisfied with their Game 1 performance.

“Kyrie is a Hall of Fame scorer. Luka will be a Hall of Famer. They’re two monsters over there,” he said. “We gotta continue to generate great shots. There’s always room for improvement. We can get better. But we can’t be complacent with how we played today, knowing what they have in that locker room over there.”

Ivica Zubac

The Mavericks had trouble containing Zubac, who finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds. He also spoke about being prepared for Irving and Doncic.

“We know those two guys are going to make big shots, tough shots. We gotta be locked in on everyone else,” Zubac said. “We know their tendencies. We know what they’re trying to do. We’re ready, we prepared well. We watched a lot of film on those guys. We know what we want to give up and what we want to take away. We’re locked in on everyone.”