The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Dallas Mavericks 113-101 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Tuesday, ending their six-game losing streak.

The two teams had history since meeting each other back-to-back in the playoffs in 2020 and 2021. Despite Luka Doncic's epic performances during those two series, the Mavericks lost to the Clippers after six and seven games respectively. The biggest reason behind such results was Kawhi Leonard.

Leonard had been in very poor form this season since he recovered from the partial tear of the ACL in his right knee that cost him the whole 2021-22 campaign. However, his performance on Tuesday night reminded both the Clippers and Mavericks how unstoppable he used to be in his prime.

Having shot 9-for-12 from the field, 3-for-5 behind the arc and 12-for-12 at the free throw line, Leonard scored season-high 33 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals for the Clippers at home. He made full use of his advantage over every defender in every isolation possession he got – of which there weren't many because the Mavericks often double-teamed him from high – and played like an offensive spine for the Clippers.

Norman Powell and Terance Mann made key contributions to the Clippers' victory on Sunday as well. Powell alone outscored the whole bench unit of the Mavericks 27-13 and earned 10 free throws, the third-most on the court. Mann had 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, keeping the opponents trailing by double digits for a long, safe time.

Like Leonard, Doncic dominated the Clippers in Tuesday's game as he did during the two series in 2020 and 2021. He started off with wild aggressiveness, targeting Ivica Zubac, the biggest defensive vulnerability in the Clippers' starting lineup to him, via screen plays in nearly every offensive possession.

As a result, Zubac played less than five minutes in the first quarter before committing three fouls and going to the bench. He didn't appear on the floor at all in the second period and played less than 16 minutes in total on Tuesday night. As for Moses Brown, coach Tyronn Lue only had him play some four minutes when Doncic was resting on the bench.

Having kept a small squad during most of the time in Tuesday's competition, the Clippers trapped Doncic in a harder way than what the Mavericks did to Leonard. This kind of defense in addition to Doncic's cold touch led to the consequence of him shooting only nine field goals (FGs) and making only three of them to get 12 points in the first half.

Doncic's teammates let him down as well as they went 4-for-14 from downtown in the first two quarters, letting the Clippers get away with a 22-point lead and leaving the opponents' role players open.

Doncic changed his way of attack in the second half by going deeper into the paint and increased more posting offense. He shot 7-for-8 in the paint and 11-for-12 in free throws to drop 31 points in the third and fourth quarters. The Mavericks cut their deficit to 10 points (88-78) after the third quarter and were on good momentum.

However, the Mavericks' role players blew their best chance of coming back away by going 0-for-8 in the first four minutes of the fourth period. Seven of those shots were triples. The team didn't make any FG until Doncic drained a floater at 7:28, but the Clippers had already extended their lead to 18 points (98-80) again before that.

If the Mavericks don't want to waste Doncic's epic performance this season, their front office better start making phone calls to discuss trades that will make a real difference for the franchise.

Other games on Tuesday (away teams come first):

Detroit Pistons 116-147 Philadelphia 76ers

Joel Embiid returned from injury and dropped a double-double of 36 points and 11 rebounds in less than 24 minutes for the 76ers to secure an easy win at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday. James Harden also finished his work within three quarters and contributed a triple-double of 16 points, 12 rebounds and 15 assists.

The Pistons remained at the bottom of the Eastern Conference after suffering their 33rd loss this season. The team at the moment is probably more interested in what pick they can get for the NBA Draft in June and how much they should charge for trading Bojan Bogdanovic instead of how their players perform this season.

Oklahoma City Thunder 111-112 Miami Heat

The Heat set a new NBA record by making all of their 40 free throws at FTX Arena in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday. 23 of those free throws were earned and made by Jimmy Butler. Though he had a cold touch after shooting 6-for-17 from the field, Butler made the 2+1 play at 0:12 in the fourth quarter for his team to win in the end.

Josh Giddey had a triple-double of 18 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for the Thunder, including scoring 10 points in the final period, almost helping his team reverse the situation. He joined Doncic, Ben Simmons and LeBron James to become the fourth player in league history to get at least 1,000 points, 700 rebounds and 500 assists in the first 100 games of his career.

Cleveland Cavaliers 114-116 Utah Jazz

In his first trip back to Vivint Arena since he was traded away last year, Donovan Mitchell scored 46 points and six assists for the Cavaliers against the Jazz on Tuesday. His 17 points in the fourth quarter alone made his team see the hope for a comeback win on the road, but Mitchell's final 3-pointer came too late.

Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson guarded the home court for the Jazz with remarkable performances. Markkanen got a double-double of 25 points and 16 rebounds after making 12 free throws. Clarkson scored 15 of his 32 points in the fourth period to keep the Jazz as the leading side in front of the wild rally of the opponents.

Charlotte Hornets 120-132 Toronto Raptors

Phoenix Suns 125-113 Golden State Warriors

Orlando Magic 109-106 Portland Trail Blazers