Doncic 'greatness' undone by Clippers' MVP Leonard

ORLANDO (Florida) • It was almost a maiden National Basketball Association play-off game to savour for Luka Doncic.

The reigning Rookie of the Year had 42 points against league contenders Los Angeles Clippers on Monday - the most any player has scored on his post-season debut.

The Clippers were blown away, with forward Paul George calling him "the future", while coach Doc Rivers said he saw "greatness" at Disney World.

Except Doncic did not quite see it that way, labelling his performance "terrible".

Ever the perfectionist, the Slovenian guard was unhappy with his 11 turnovers, although had Dallas, who were making their first play-off appearance since 2016, not lost 118-110 in Game 1, his mood would certainly have been better.

Their defeat could not be pinned on Doncic, but rather a combination of brilliance by Finals Most Valuable Player Kawhi Leonard and a soft ejection early in the third quarter for Kristaps Porzingis that swung things in favour of the Clippers.

Forward Leonard, who is chasing his third championship after winning with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014 and leading the Toronto Raptors to their first title last year, paced his team in the three most important categories at Disney World.

He led them with 29 points, pulled down 12 boards and had six assists, making him the first player in league history to lead three different franchises in those categories in a post-season game.

Teammate George was also not far behind, tallying 27 points, and he admitted he was relishing the task of leading the Clippers to not only their first Western Conference Finals, but the championship as well.

"This is my 10th year in the league and I still get butterflies," said the forward.

"It took the second half for me to get going but I understood just to let the game flow."

The game, however, was affected by a controversial call to toss out Porzingis after the Latvian centre tried to intervene in a skirmish between Doncic and Clippers forward Marcus Morris.

The All-Star, who had 14 points and six rebounds, seemed to give Morris a light push in the chest, but that did not appear to warrant his second technical of the contest.

Points Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic scored.

Mavericks fans were outraged on social media and even Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James tweeted the ejection was "bogus as hell".

The Clippers also had sympathy for Porzingis, with Rivers saying he "hated that", while Morris claimed he wished his opponent had stayed on the court.

Had he been present for most of the second half, things could have been very different for the Mavericks, with Doncic in inspired form.

On the All-Star, Leonard said: "He's great, you know what I mean? He's very poised. He's very trusted on that team. He can get to his spots, find his teammates, gets them easy baskets. He makes tough baskets well. He's a great player."

Afterwards, Doncic expressed his frustration with the Porzingis call, claiming "KP had my back" before vowing to play better in Game 2 today.

"That is 11 more possessions, imagine that... I got to do way better than that," he said. "I just want to win."

In the other series openers, Jamal Murray scored 36 points as the Denver Nuggets overcame a 57-point display by Donovan Mitchell to defeat the Utah Jazz 135-125, while the Raptors beat the Brooklyn Nets 134-110.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE