Field Level Media
Aug 24, 2012
Montrezl Harrell scored a career-high 32 points and Lou Williams added 21 as the Los Angeles Clippers' bench rode to the rescue again in a 121-112 victory Monday over the visiting Dallas Mavericks.
Danilo Gallinari led the starting five with 20 points as the Clippers won for the fourth time in their past six games and beat the Mavericks at home for the fifth consecutive time.
Luka Doncic recorded a triple-double with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and veteran Dirk Nowitzki added 12 in his second start of the season and 1,500th career game as the Mavericks lost their fifth consecutive game and fell for the sixth time in their past seven games.
The Clippers' bench has been doing the job all season, scoring 52.9 points per game entering Monday's contest, on pace to become the highest-scoring reserve unit in the NBA in 30 years. The combined 36.0 points per game from Harrell and Williams would be the highest for a reserve duo in NBA history.
Harrell went 14 of 17 from the field two games after tying his career high with 30 points at Memphis on Friday.
The Clippers led 63-57 after a tight first half, but the Mavericks made an 8-0 run midway through the third quarter to take an 83-78 lead, their largest advantage of the game. But the Clippers closed out the quarter on a 13-5 run with Harrell and Williams scoring 10 of Los Angeles' points.
The duo also led the way in the fourth quarter, with Harrell tying his career high on a free throw with 4:45 remaining and setting a new benchmark on a dunk with 2:03 remaining. Williams finished with 10 assists.
Doncic played 33 minutes for the Mavericks after missing the previous two games with an ankle injury. Dwight Powell had 24 points while Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 20 for the Mavericks, who retooled the roster by trading Harrison Barnes, DeAndre Jordan, Dennis Smith Jr. and Wesley Matthews at the deadline.
Patrick Beverley scored 17 points for the Clippers, while JaMychal Green had 11. Green came over to the Clippers from Memphis in a trade-deadline deal earlier this month.
Clippers head coach Doc Rivers took the public address microphone in the closing minute and led a cheer in honor of Nowitzki, who is in his 21st season.
--Field Level Media