The Los Angeles Clippers will be in first.
On Sunday, Los Angeles defeated the Dallas Mavericks 109-97 in Game 1 without star Kawhi Leonard, who was sidelined with an injury.
The Clippers used a commanding 34-22 advantage in the first quarter to set the tone, then kept their foot on the gas by outscoring Dallas 22-8 in the second quarter.
Los Angeles' largest lead was 29 points, and Dallas had never led. Dallas tried to make the game more interesting with a run late in the fourth quarter, but it only made the scoreboard look prettier.
Here are five takeaways from the Clippers vs. Mavericks Game 1 showdown.
James Harden leads balanced Clippers attack
With Leonard gone, the responsibility of getting things done from home has shifted to other Los Angeles stars. Harden was the catalyst for what became a dominant and balanced Clipper offense.
Harden led the way with 28 points on 8-of-17 shooting overall, 6-of-11 from deep and 6-of-6 from the foul line, and had eight assists, two rebounds and two blocks.
Paul George added 22 points, Ivica Zubac led the way with 20 points, and Terrence Mann and Russell Westbrook came off the bench to score 13 points.
Mavericks' star duo can't get help
Meanwhile, Dallas' star duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving didn't get the help they needed to play against Los Angeles.
Doncic led the team with 33 points, but he wasn't very efficient, hitting 11 of 26 attempts overall, 4 of 12 from deep and 7 of 8 from the foul line. He added 13 rebounds, six assists and one steal. Irving had 31 points on 10-of-18 shooting overall, 3-of-6 from deep and 8-of-9 from the foul line, along with seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.
P.J. Washington was the only Maverick with more than double-digit total points, hitting 4-of-11 from 10-point range overall. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored just six points in 16 minutes off the bench, while Maxi Kleber scored three points in 27 minutes as a backup.
Clippers light up the 3-point line
Much of Los Angeles' success in the season opener can be summarized in the 3-point conversion. As a team, the Clippers made 18 of 36 (50%), while the Mavs only made 10 of 33 (30.3%).
Harden and George combined for 10 triples, and players like Mann (3 of 3) and Westbrook (2 of 4) enjoyed hot minutes of their own.
It may not be sustainable, but every margin counts in a playoff scenario. The Clippers arguably controlled almost everything, even though they didn't have the best player.
Ivica Zubac breaks through in the first leg
Zubac hasn't always done well against the Mavericks in playoff matchups, but his performance in Game 1 shows his importance to this Clippers team.
Zubac and Mason Plumlee are the only two rotational big men off the bench for the Clippers, but the 27-year-old enjoyed a mini-breakout performance, averaging 11.7 points and 9.2 rebounds in 68 regular-season games. .
Zubac had 20 points on 10-of-17 shooting, 15 rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in 33 minutes, beating Dallas starting center Daniel Gafford, who had just three points in 14 minutes. It was easily surpassed. If Zubac can maintain a similar level when Leonard returns, this could be an interesting series.
Mavericks' mentality will be tested in Game 2
Even if the Mavericks lose Game 2 on Tuesday, it's not a do-or-die scenario. But they will at least need to show more resilience before the series heads to Dallas for Games 3 and 4.
Since the Doncic era, the Mavericks have reached the playoffs three times, not including this season. Two of those games were losses to the Clippers in the first round, and the other was a trip to the Western Conference Finals, which did not include a matchup with the Los Angeles side.
Doncic and his team will need to prove in this crucial postseason game that the Clippers are not playoff kryptonite.
