Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks Passing 1st NBA Playoff Test vs. L.A. Clippers

Knotting up their first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers at one game apiece is no grounds for the Dallas Mavericks to take more than a momentary victory lap. There's much more series left to play and maybe, just maybe, another series after that.Which is the entire point.Dallas' regular-season ascendance has trickled over to the playoffs. Even Boban Marjanovic pitched in, dropping 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting while logging just under 10 minutes.When Doncic left the floor early in the fourth quarter after picking up his fifth foul, the Mavericks actually extended their lead behind timely shot-making from their trio of former Knicks. In the 20 minutes he didn't play, Dallas drilled five threes, generated 21 free throws and outscored the Clippers by two—a small edge that makes all the difference in the world when having to navigate superstar-less stretches against Paul George or Kawhi Leonard and sometimes both.Yes, the Clippers have missed quite a few open shots (33% from three) but Dallas is getting a plethora of their own open shots and they're knocking them down while being on a string defensively to take away first and second options. And to endure crunch-time pushes?Two games and a 1-1 record isn't enough to render a concrete verdict on the state of Doncic's running mates, which is forever better than expected thanks to head coach Rick Carlisle's own decision-making and, for the most part, common-sense lineups. At the same time, the Mavericks are very much working with two games worth of evidence.Dallas lost Game 1 under a thick what-if cloud.