DALLAS — Norman Powell scored 29 points, James Harden added 24 and Ivica Zubac had 21 points and 15 rebounds as the Clippers beat a short-handed Dallas Mavericks team, 118-95, on Thursday night in the Mavericks’ first game this season playing without star guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Doncic sat out with a left heel contusion and Irving with right shoulder soreness in the opener of a two-game set between the teams that will conclude Saturday night.
First-year Maverick Klay Thompson scored 22 points, his first game leading the team in scoring. Spencer Dinwiddie added 19 and seven assists in his first start of the season, and P.J. Washington added 14 points and nine rebounds.
The Clippers took a 50-49 lead into the second half and outscored the Mavericks 39-28 in the third period, hitting 69.6% (16 for 23) of their field-goal attempts while Dallas shot 40% (8 for 20) in the quarter.
After Washington’s runner pulled Dallas within 73-68 with five minutes left in the third quarter, Zubac’s dunk began a 12-1 run, during which the Mavericks missed all four field-goal attempts. That was part of a larger 22-6 run.
The Mavericks rallied early in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to eight points, but the Clippers responded with runs of 9-2 and 11-0. The latter, lasting more than five minutes, closed out the win.
The Clippers shot 44 of 85 from the field (51.8%), including 14 for 33 from behind the arc (42.4%).
Powell’s 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point range led the Clippers, while Harden, Kevin Porter Jr., Amir Coffey and Derrick Jones Jr. each made two 3-pointers.
Harden went 10 for 10 from the free-throw line to go with five rebounds and a team-high seven assists on a night when the Clippers had 30 assists – six from Kris Dunn and five each from Powell and Zubac.
Coffey scored as many points (16) as the entire Dallas bench combined, while Porter added 12 in a reserve role for the Clippers.
The Clippers held Dallas to 34-of-86 shooting from the floor (39.5%), including 7 for 30 from 3-point range for season lows in 3-point shots made and percentage (23.3%).
The Clippers also capitalized on takeaways with an 18-9 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Mavericks, missing a combined 52.8 points from Doncic and Irving, scored their fewest points of any game this season and suffered their most lopsided loss of the season.
Dunn was ejected for committing a flagrant 2 foul against Jazian Gortman late in the third period.
The teams meet again Saturday at 5:30 p.m. PT. The teams’ other two meetings will be a back-to-back on April 4-5 at the Intuit Dome.
