Failure in the first half played a decisive role in the Clippers’ loss.

LOS ANGELES. Tuesday turned into a tough day at the Dallas Mavericks office.

The Mavs got off to a slow start against the Los Angeles Clippers. The situation began to unravel in the second quarter when the Clippers took command and took a 69-47 lead.

It all happened because the Clippers took the ball out of Luka Doncic’s hands by double-crossing it shortly after he crossed half the court, forcing every other member of the Mavs to try to beat them.

It’s a strategy that several teams have used with the Mavs this season. Moving forward, the Mavs know they need to develop a formation to overcome this strategy, especially because it puts them in a position where they have a clear advantage because they are basically playing four on three.

Regarding Tuesday’s game, coach Jason Kidd said: “Our energy and efforts were not there in the first half. I thought we could act better in the second half (and) understand that we saw it for most of the season when the teams were going to double up and take the ball out of Luca’s hands.

“It’s just that the intervals weren’t very good in the first half. So we talked about it at half-time, made adjustments and started converting where the guys knew where to go, and then started making shots. But when we don’t score, it affects our defense a lot. You saw it in the first half.”

The Mavs fared much better in the second half when they beat the Clippers 54-44 thanks to a great game in which Doncic scored 43 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and shared seven assists. However, the Clippers were able to hold on and exit the Crypto.com Arena with a 113–101 win.

Here are three takeaways from the Clippers’ 12-point victory over the Mavs.

SECOND QUARTER BLUES: Obviously, all four quarters are important in an NBA game. But clear signs of that play came in the second quarter, when the Clippers beat the Mavs 38–22. Norman Powell did the most damage to the Mavs that quarter, scoring 16 points, leaving the field 6 of 6, including all three three-point attempts. clippers were 14 of 25 off the field in the second quarter while the Mavs were 6 of 16, outplayed 15–6 and flipped the ball five times.

REFILLS AND SECOND CHANCE POINTS: When it comes to rebounding, the Clippers have taken advantage of the fact that the Mavs are running out of big bodies. The Clippers picked up more rebounds than the Mavs (56–42) and also gained a 12–3 lead in offensive rebounds. This resulted in the Clippers passing the Mavs on second chance points, 20–6, which was essentially the difference in the game. The Clippers had five players with at least five rebounds each, and Luka Doncic—he had 11 boards—was the only Mavericks player with more than four rebounds.

INJURIES TAKING THEIR FEES: It’s easy to see with the naked eye that a lot of injuries are taking their toll on the Mavs who haven’t had Dorian Finney-Smith (right adductor sprain), Josh Green (right elbow sprain), and Maxi Kleber (right hamstring tear). for quite some time. Then on Tuesday, Dwight Powell was limited to just eight minutes after suffering a bruised right hip. The ripple effect from the long list of injuries is this: Luka Doncic played 43 minutes on Tuesday, Spencer Dinwiddie played 40 and Tim Hardaway Jr. played 39. All in all, it’s not exactly what the coach likes to see.

Twitter: @DwainPrice