Clippers vs Mavericks Game 6 Preview: Clippers Favored to Take Doncic, Dallas to Seven, But Will They Back It Up?

Will tonight’s Clippers vs Mavericks matchup mark the end of the road for L.A.’s involvement in this season’s NBA playoffs?

Coming into the season, the Lakers and Clippers were the Western Conference favorites. And the gap between the Staples Center sharers and the rest of the West looked appeared to be vast. But injuries and inconsistent contributions from their supporting cast all season hurt the Lakers’ repeat hopes, and last night, they exited the first round at the hands of Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns. That marked LeBron James’s first first-round exit in his NBA career and ended their repeat run at the first hurdle.

The Clippers have not been as disrupted by injuries as the Lakers were, but failing to defend their home court three times in this series has them on the brink. They negated the first two failures with two wins in Dallas, but can they do it a third time? If not, they will join their rivals at Elimination Station. However, with the home team yet to win a game in this series, conditions favor a Game 7 decider.

Of course, it did not seem likely that the Lakers would be bounced in the way they were, did it? It also looked unlikely that the Blazers would go cold and collapse as they did to bow out to the Nuggets last night, when they were outscored 42-18 over the last 15 minutes. So it would surprise to no one if the only home win of the series comes tonight.

Los Angeles Clippers (2-3) vs Dallas Mavericks (3-2), ESPN, 9:00 pm ET

Clippers vs Mavericks Series Schedule and Results

• Saturday, May 22 | Game 1 (at Los Angeles): Mavericks 113-103 Clippers
• Tuesday, May 25 | Game 2 (at Los Angeles): Mavericks 127-121 Clippers
• Friday, May 28 | Game 3 (at Dallas): Clippers 118-108 Mavericks
• Sunday, May 30 | Game 4 (at Dallas): Clippers 106-81 Mavericks
• Wednesday, June 2 | Game 5 (at Los Angeles): Mavericks 105-100 Clippers
• Friday, June 4 | Game 6 (at Dallas): Clippers vs Mavericks, ESPN, 9:00 pm ET
• Sunday, June 6 | Game 7 (at Los Angeles): Mavericks vs Clippers, TBD, TBD (if necessary)

Clippers vs Mavericks Series Betting Odds

Odds to Win the Series

• Los Angeles Clippers +134
• Dallas Mavericks -164

Clippers vs Mavericks Game 6 Betting Odds

• Spread: Clippers -3 (-110), Mavericks +3 (-110)
• Total: OVER 216.5 (-110), UNDER 216.5 (-110)
• Moneyline: Clippers -146, Mavericks +124

Clippers vs Mavericks Game 6 Betting Consensus

• Spread: 44% Clippers, 56% Mavericks (at -/+3)
• Total: 78% OVER, 22% UNDER (at O/U 216.5)
• Moneyline: 78% Clippers, 22% Mavericks

Clippers vs Mavericks odds are via BetOnline Sportsbook as of Friday, June 4 at 11:20 am ET. For more NBA betting odds, check out our NBA odds page. It features updated odds from BetOnline and other top online sportsbooks.

Betting News uses an aggregation of picks from reputable industry sources for all NBA, MLB, and NHL games that are previewed on the site. For detailed Clippers vs Mavericks betting information, including a source-by-source betting picks breakdown, check out the Clippers vs Mavericks matchup page.

Los Angeles Clippers vs Dallas Mavericks Game 6 Matchup: Picks, Odds, Stats and More

Can the Clippers Be Trusted?

Whether or not the Clippers tanked their last two regular-season games in order to secure a seemingly more favorable first-round matchup is for conspiracy theorists and analysts to debate. But if they did do so, well…

There’s overplaying your hand, and then there is whatever it is the Clippers have done thus far in this series. It will work out swimmingly if they win tonight in Dallas and then win at home when it matters most. But even then, it’ll have come at a cost. By playing a seven-game series, they will have exerted themselves for two more games and one more road trip than the Utah Jazz, their second-round opponent, did in their series win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Doncic, Decision-Making Doom Clippers in Game 5 Defeat

Everything was set up for the Clippers to take control of the series on Wednesday if they could win at home. They downed the Mavs by double digits twice in Dallas, making it appear that their early 0-2 deficit was behind them.

But they regressed at both ends of the court, which has put them on the brink of elimination. Luka Doncic lit them up in the first three quarters, as 40 of his 42 points coming in the first three stanzas. Offensively, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George fell short, combining for only 43 points. And after rallying and positioning themselves for a heist, questionable decisions doomed the Clippers on their final two possessions.

After their capitulation against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals last season, questions and stories abounded about the Clippers’ mettle and chemistry or lack thereof. This season, they rather quietly won 47 games while most headlines focused elsewhere. They even showed a better ability to win without their stars than the Lakers did without LeBron, AD, or both.

But three straight home losses and the way they wilted in key moments in all three raise reasonable questions. Have they learned anything from last season? Are there chemistry issues? Can they be trusted in the clutch? Even if the Clippers pull out Game 6, those questions should not disappear. And even if they pull out the series, they should still not disappear, with the Utah Jazz ahead.

Three Clutch Catastrophes in the Clippers vs Mavericks Series

• Game 1: After taking a 97-95 lead, the Clippers were outscored 18-6 over the final 6:32 of the fourth quarter, including 13-3 over the final 3:12.
• Game 2: A late rally ultimately fell short due to an inability to get a vital defensive stop. After trimming the deficit from nine to four with over a minute remaining, the Clippers allowed a three on the next possession. After scoring to pull within 123-118, they failed on the defensive end again, and two Josh Richardson free throws iced the game.
• Game 5: After a late 9-0 run pulled them within one, the Clippers had a chance to take the lead after Terence Mann’s steal. But they failed to do so, with Mann passing up a possible layup and Nicolas Batum’s bunny falling off of the rim. After the Mavs hit two from the stripe, the Clippers had a chance to tie, but Kawhi Leonard rushed a three.

The latest Clippers vs Mavericks picks have the Clippers as the consensus moneyline play. The Clippers are the better team, led by a superstar that has two NBA Finals wins and two NBA Finals MVP trophies to his name, earned in series wins over the two dominant franchises of the previous decade. This should be money time.

But remember last season’s disaster. The Clippers led the Nuggets 3-1, then imploded in inexplicable fashion. They led by 12 at halftime in Game 5, by 16 at the break in Game 6, and by two in Game 7 and couldn’t close the door on Denver at any point.

Numbers and talent count for a lot, but this one comes down to the eye test. And in opportunities to prove that they are a different team where and when it matters, the Clippers have not passed.

Can Doncic Dominate Across Four Quarters?

As memorable as Doncic’s Game 5 performance was, it can’t be overlooked that he scored only two fourth-quarter points.

If the Clippers bring their best tonight, Doncic will have to as well. And his best might need to be even better than Wednesday, when he put up 42 points, 14 assists, and eight rebounds. For the series, he is averaging 35 points per game, eight rebounds per game, and 9.4 assists per game, and he is making 47.9 percent from the field (68 of 142) and 42.9 percent from three (24 of 56).

Based on his production in the series and what the Mavs may need from him tonight, there is a lot of outstanding value in his performance props.

Luka Doncic Game 6 Props

• Points: OVER 31.5 (-110), UNDER 31.5 (-110)
• Alt Points: OVER 34.5 (+162), OVER 39.5 (+430), OVER 42.5 (+750)
• Made Threes: OVER 3.5 (+136), UNDER 3.5 (-174)
• Alt Made Threes: OVER 4.5 (+320), OVER 5.5 (+750)
• Rebounds: OVER 7.5 (-110), UNDER 7.5 (-110)
• Assists: OVER 9.5 (-104), UNDER 9.5 (-118)
• Points + Rebounds + Assists: OVER 48.5 (-120), UNDER 48.5 (-106)
• To Record a Triple-Double: +440

Los Angeles Clippers vs Dallas Mavericks Game 6 Matchup: Picks, Odds, Stats and More