Mavericks vs Clippers Picks and Odds
- After losing to the Lakers on Christmas, Dallas will now face the Clippers on Sunday
- Luka Doncic and the Mavs haven’t won a game yet through two contests, while LA is a perfect 2-0 after a big win over the Nuggets
- Get the odds, preview, and best bet for Sunday’s contest below
It won’t get any easier for the Dallas Mavericks in their third game of the season. After a blowout defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas, the Mavs will have a day off before facing the unbeaten Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, December 27th, tip-off at 3:30 PM EST.
In 2019/20, LA knocked out the Mavericks in six games in the first round of the playoffs, while also winning all three meetings against Rick Carlisle’s team during the regular season.
Mavericks vs Clippers Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Mavericks | +4.5 (-110) | +166 | OFF |
| Los Angeles Clippers | -4.5 (-110) | -198 | OFF |
Odds taken Dec 26 at Fanduel
The Clippers are a 4.5-point favorite and are 2-0 ATS so far.
Dallas Still Searching For First Win
The Mavs aren’t off to an ideal start by any means. Wednesday’s opener saw the Phoenix Suns beat Dallas on home soil in a close contest as Luka Doncic and Devin Booker went toe to toe. The Slovenian had quite the night, dropping 32 points while also grabbing eight boards. As a whole, it wasn’t an awful performance, but they did shoot under 30 percent from downtown.
The Mavs then marched into LA on Friday looking to pull off an upset over the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. Unfortunately, it was a dismal night all around for the visitors, getting completely outworked on the boards and losing by 23 points. Doncic still had 27 points, but he was contained by the Lakers defense for the most part with double teams all game long.
Montrezl Harrell in particular dominated Dallas on the glass, grabbing five offensive rebounds alone, while the Mavs, as a team, only had three. The Lakers also outscored Doncic and co. 35-0 on second-chance points, a perfect example of just how non-existent the Mavericks were around the hoop. LA also collected 53 boards in total to just 27 for Dallas.
The Clippers will pose the same type of threat on Sunday, with big men Serge Ibaka and Ivica Zubac. The Mavs will simply need to be a lot more aggressive at the rim if they want to find their first victory of the season.
Clippers Looking To Start Season 3-0
Just like 2019/20, the Clippers beat the Lakers in their season opener, thanks to 33 points from Paul George. Then on Christmas, LA had the chance to get revenge on the Denver Nuggets, who clawed back from a 3-1 deficit in last year’s Western Conference semifinals to eliminate the Clippers.
Denver cut a 24-point deficit to just nine with 7:35 left in the fourth quarter, but LA was able to hold on for the 121-108 victory. Kawhi Leonard and George led the way with 21 and 23 points, respectively. Leonard left in the fourth after accidentally catching an elbow from Ibaka. He hit the ground bleeding profusely but walked to the locker room at his own will, eventually getting eight stitches.
The Clips were on fire against the Nuggets, shooting 55 percent from the field and a mind-boggling 50 percent from downtown, sinking 19 of 38 attempts. PG13 was sinking three’s all night long, going 5 for 9 from long range.
LA will need to limit their turnovers against Dallas though, after coughing up the ball 18 time on Christmas. If Kawhi does end up missing Sunday’s contest, it will definitely be good news for the Mavs, who would do anything to win their first game of the year at this point.
Best Bet
The Clippers have looked really good to this point on both ends of the court. Dallas will definitely be coming into the last game of their road trip with a fire in their belly as they look for their first victory. Doncic has been complemented quite nicely by the likes of Trey Burke and Josh Richardson offensively, but they simply haven’t played with enough grit on the defensive end.
The Clips might not have the same size down low as the Lakers, but Ibaka is still a monster inside and capable of grabbing a ton of boards. Dallas will also need to limit LA’s three-point shooting which has been fantastic so far this season.
I think it will actually be a very close game here, but I believe the Mavs will grab a win, whether Kawhi Leonard plays or not. They learned a lesson from the Lakers and will make the necessary adjustments.
Pick: Dallas Mavericks +4.5 (-110)
Quinn Allen is a sports journalist, with a background and education in broadcast journalism (BCIT '17). He is a full-time associate editor at ClutchPoints by day, where he writes about soccer, baseball, basketball, football, and more. At night, Quinn is a frequent contributor at SBD.
