Clippers rally to beat Mavericks in Game 1 of playoff clash

MANILA, Philippines – Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points and had 12 rebounds and Paul George tallied 27 points as the Los Angeles Clippers held on to beat the Dallas Mavericks, 118-110, in the opening game of their playoff series.

"This is my 10th year in the league and I still get butterflies," said George. "It took the second half for me to get going but I understood just to let the game flow." 

Dallas's 21-year-old star Luka Doncic scored a game-high 40 points to become the first player in NBA history to record a 40-point performance in his playoff debut.

"He is the future," George of Doncic, who also had nine assists and seven rebounds. "We didn't expect to stop him but we wanted to wear him down as much as possible."

Marcus Morris had 19 points for the Clippers, who will try to go up 2-0 in Game Two of the best-of-seven series on Wednesday (Thursday, Manila time).

Dallas had to play much of the second half without star player Kristaps Porzingis after he was ejected while trying to intervene in a skirmish between his teammate Doncic and Clippers Morris. Porzingis, who argued the ejection, appeared to give Morris a light push in the chest. It was his second technical of the contest.

The Mavericks were leading the series opener 71-66 at the time of the ejection. Porzingis had 14 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes.

Also, Fred VanVleet scored 30 points as the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors defeated the Brooklyn Nets 134-110 in the opening game of their first-round series.

Jayson Tatum scored a playoff-career-high 32 points, Jaylen Brown added 29 and the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 109-101 in the opener of their series.

Celtics forward Gordon Hayward left the game late in the fourth with an ankle injury.