LOS ANGELES — Clippers coach Tyronn Lue’s message to his team after losing Game 5 by 30 points was simple and direct.

“I didn’t have a message,” he said.

Because really, what was there to say after the Dallas Mavericks trampled all over them and possibly their postseason dreams in a 123-93 loss on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. The lopsided loss left the Clippers down, 3-2, and facing elimination in the best-of-seven first-round series that now heads to Dallas for Game 6 on Friday.

If necessary, Game 7 will be back in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Another home game won’t be necessary, though, if the Clippers don’t improve or play with the sense of urgency that was missing in Game 5.

“We know how to win. We know we won two games,” center Ivica Zubac said. “We have got to be better. We got to be more physical. We got to play with desperation. We got to have better effort.”

The effort needs to be focused on stopping Mavericks star Luka Doncic, who went off for a game-high 35 points on 14-of-26 shooting and had seven rebounds and 10 assists despite playing with a head cold and a lingering sprained right knee.

“We knew at some point that Luka was going to have a Luka game,” Lue said. “We’re not going to hang our heads. We got to win four games. We go to Dallas, Game 6 on Friday and we’ll be ready to go.”

Most likely, the Clippers will be traveling east without Kawhi Leonard, who missed his third game in the series because of inflammation in his surgically repaired right knee. Lue said Leonard’s status is “a day-to-day thing and when he’s feeling good and medical says he’s clear to go and that’s what we’ll do.”

Until then, the Clippers need James Harden and Paul George to continue to lead. But unlike the previous two games, George and Harden couldn’t fill the void left by Leonard in Game 5. The two never appeared in sync Wednesday.

For one, their 3-point attempts didn’t fall. They finished a combined 3 for 13 from long range. Other times they rushed shots, came up short on others or turned the ball over

Harden had been shooting 61% on his step-backs and 60% on his floaters, but neither turned out to be sustainable against a Dallas defense that zeroed in on the three-time league scoring champion.

He scored just seven points on 2-of-12 shooting (1 for 7 from 3-point range), while George finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds but shot 4 for 13 overall and 2 for 6 from behind the arc.

Lue attributed Harden’s letdown to him “being human.”

“He’s allowed to have a bad game,” Lue added. “We didn’t shoot the ball well. They tried to get up and pressure a little bit, which we didn’t handle like we had in the first four games. He played bad. It’s possible. He didn’t play well. So, I got to do a better job getting him in better situations and then being ready for Game 6, which I know he’ll be better.”

Harden, like most of the other players, had nothing to say, walking past the media without slowing down.

The Mavericks also limited George from gaining any real traction, and the rest of the team failed to provide any real offense, shooting 37.9% from the field.

“It was just an uncharacteristic game,” George said. “And, we got to be better. We got to be better going into a Game 6.”

Lue said the Clippers didn’t play well all around, offensively, and defensively.

“We just didn’t play a good game and so that’s OK. Turn the page,” Lue said. “You still got to win four games and we know we (can) win on that floor and we’ve shown that past two playoff series.”

Lue pointed out that the Clippers were in this position in 2021 when they were down 3-2 against Dallas and came back to win the series.

“We didn’t play our best game (tonight) and we understand that. I think we all understand that collectively. So, we’ll be better for Game 6,” Lue said.

The Clippers quit looking for Ivica Zubac after he had a hot first quarter, finishing with 15 points and six rebounds, while Terance Mann had 11 points and seven rebounds. Russell Westbrook also struggled off the bench, missing his first eight shots before finally scoring in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, Doncic didn’t let two early fouls or a stuffy nose slow him down. At Wednesday’s shootaround, he reportedly didn’t engage in much running and said he wasn’t sure how his knee would hold up.

He saved it all for the game, which turned into a one-sided affair midway through the third quarter. Doncic scorched the Clippers for 14 points in the third, stretching Dallas’ lead to 23 points during a 17-2 run. The Clippers missed nine consecutive shots and committed four turnovers during the 6:23 between their first and second baskets of the second half.

The Mavericks kept the pressure on in the fourth, leading by as much as 32 points.

Dallas shot 54% from the field and made 14 of 39 3-point shots. Maxi Kleber had 15 points (all on 3-pointers), Kyrie Irving finished with 14 points and six assists and Derrick Jones Jr. added 12 points.

Lue eventually threw in the towel and had bench players close out the game.

“This is why it’s a series. You know, we got to prepare and get ready for the next one,” George said.

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The Clippers got off to a strong start behind Zubac and Mann, who got the team going with eight and seven points, respectively, in the first quarter.

Lue then switched out his starters for a lineup of Norman Powell, Mason Plumlee, Harden, Westbrook and Mann and the game got chaotic. The Clippers struggled to find the basket as Dallas began hitting nearly every shot to go up by eight points on a 3-pointer by Maxi Kleber at the 7:21 mark.

It didn’t get much better as the Mavericks stretched their lead to 12 with a 12-4 run before George made two free throws in the final 12 seconds as Dallas settled for a 56-46 halftime lead.

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said before the game it was important to stop the Clippers from making 3-pointers and they achieved that goal in the first half. The Clippers were just 9 of 35 from behind the arc.

Dallas is on the brink of its first playoff series victory since 2022 and only its third since winning the NBA title in 2011.

Luka Magic was in full effect as the @dallasmavs took a 3-2 series lead in LA!

35 PTS
10 AST
7 REB
14-26 FGM

Game 6: Friday, 9:30pm/et on ESPN pic.twitter.com/XRmQKGtf32

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