The visiting Los Angeles Clippers beat the Dallas Mavericks 114-99 at the American Airlines Center on Tuesday, ending the opponents' five-win-streak while claiming their sixth straight victory.

The Mavericks' second-year rookie Luka Donci,c who has been getting into headlines recently, encountered the toughest defense so far in his career. The Clippers sent Patrick Beverley, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, all three of who have been named the NBA All-Defensive First Team before, to defend Doncic one-on-one in turn.

The defenseman would follow Doncic closely so he could not shoot comfortably from the 3-point line. When he called for screen, the defender would allow, or drive Doncic toward 2.16-meter-tall Ivica Zubac waiting for him under the rim, or have 2.01-meter Montrezl Harrell to double team Doncic.

This was not perfect defense but it still worked for several reasons. First, Doncic's lost magic with his signature back-step 3-pointer – he missed all eight shots from downtown. Second, though Doncic kept finding open teammates with his pass, the general 3-point rate of the Mavericks was not helping.

Fairly speaking, Doncic still managed to make the Clippers pay in spite of his disappointing shooting. He earned 16 free throws and made 14 of them while burying four shots in the paint; Beverley's aggressive defense only led to free throws so the Clippers had to double team him from the second quarter; even though he was being followed by plural players in most of the time. Doncic was unsuccessful in creating opportunities for his teammates who failed to score.

In fact, the Clippers' defense was not the only reason behind their victory. When Doncic was on the court in the first quarter, the score difference was no more than seven points. However, when the Mavericks had to send their bench squad, the game became an unequal contest because the home team were totally clueless of their own defense.

The Clippers have three major weapons in their offense: Leonard's isolation play, George's 3-pointer and the screen play of Lou Williams and Harrell. Unfortunately, the Mavericks have no solution to any of them. Dorian Finney-Smith was sent to cover Leonard not because he could do the job but because he's the team's only standard-size forward. And it turned out he could not stop Leonard at all.

George has not found his dribble-shot back but he did not have to in Tuesday's game. Thanks to his 2.03-meter height and long limbs, Dallas had no one able to even obstruct his view when George shot behind teammates' screens. In fact, that's how George made four-3-pointers to get 17 points and prepared the double-digit lead for the team.

Three-time Sixth Man of the Year Williams has been the biggest nightmare of giants in the league. His penetration using mismatch is even more lethal than 3-point shooting after screen. Nonetheless, the Mavericks had to keep a big man on the court unless they wanted to watch Harrell eat their mini centers alive one by one.

Tuesday's loss sent a mixed message to both Doncic and the Mavericks. As for the 20-year-old young star, he should realize that the NBA's top defense was more than enough to limit him, especially when Leonard only defended him for several possessions at the end of the game. On the other hand, when he could cost the opponents' so much defensive attention, Doncic would know better to seek support from teammates.

The Mavericks received a similar message: they need to find Doncic enough help. Porzingis is not 100-percent healthy, which can be seen from his legs when he tried to finish the offense. However, even in his best time, the Latvian big man was not a passer. One thing coach Rick Carlisle should learn from this game was that his team needed the second playmaker either when Doncic was or was not on the court.

Now you should understand why the Mavericks often saw themselves get connected with the Oklahoma City Thunder – Chris Paul is their best choice, if they can find a way to swallow Paul's three-year, 124-million-U.S.-dollar deal.

In the other game on Tuesday, the Denver nuggets defeated the Washington Wizards 117-104 at the Pepsi Center. The home team made the best of their advantage in the paint, leading in rebounds (58-36), blocks (6-3), and points under the rim (70-56). Nikola Jokic only took eight shots (made four) but grabbed 20 rebounds. Will Barton dropped 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

The Nuggets bench unit were on fire in the game. Jerami Grant, Mason Plumlee and Monte Morris together shot down 45 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. Though the Wizards' Jordan McRae, Moritz Wagner and Davis Bertans responded with 49 points, the visiting team's starting-lineup underperformed offensively. Bradley Beal made only five shots out of 16 attempts to get 14 points. Japanese one-year rookie went 3/10 to score seven points. Isaiah Thomas only made one shot to get three points.