Home sweet home: Clippers beat Mavs 126-111 to win series

Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points, Marcus Morris added 23 and the Los Angeles Clippers finally won at home, finishing off the Dallas Mavericks 126-111 on Sunday in Game 7 of the first-round playoff series.

Playing in front of a small but noisy mix of masked fans and cardboard cutouts, the Clippers did what neither team had been able to pull off in the first six games — win at home. It was the first time in NBA history the road team won the first six games of a playoff series.

The fourth-seeded Clippers advanced to the Western Conference semifinals for the second straight year. They’ll play the top-seeded Utah Jazz starting Tuesday night in Salt Lake City.

Luka Doncic had 46 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds to lead the fifth-seeded Mavs, who have yet to win a playoff series since capturing the NBA championship in 2011. He finished the series with 250 points, 55 rebounds, and 72 assists.

Paul George added 22 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds for the Clippers. Their backups outscored Dallas’ reserves, 27-6, getting crucial contributions from Terance Mann (13 points) and Luke Kennard (11 points).

Trailing by eight at halftime, the Mavs outscored the Clippers 19-6 to open the third and take an 81-76 lead. Doncic had just two points in the run, with Dorian Finney-Smith hitting two 3-pointers and Tim Hardaway Jr. adding another. Finney-Smith finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

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