Clipped in SL opener by 17

LAS VEGAS – The Los Angeles Clippers jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as the squad defeated the Dallas Mavericks 86-69 in the final game of the first day of competition at the 2008 NBA Summer League Presented by EA SPORTS on the campus of UNLV in the COX Pavilion.

The Clippers never trailed in the first quarter, withstanding a 10-0 Maverick run in the final two minutes of the period, cutting L.A.’s lead to 21-18. Maverick James Singleton led all scorers after one with nine points.

Dallas continued to have the hot hand into the second quarter, stretching their run to 14 points and claiming the lead in the opening minutes of the stanza at 22-21 before the Clippers pulled away, closing the half with a 17-point advantage; 45-28. Al Thornton and Eric Gordon finished with 11 points apiece in the first half.

Los Angeles captured a 20-point lead, their largest of the game, in the third quarter on the back of Gordon’s seven-point period before finishing the stanza with a 12-point lead, 66-54.
The Clippers closed out the game with a 20-point quarter, holding the Mavericks to only 15 points.

“Our defense was ahead of our offense. On offense I thought we struggled,” said Mavericks Summer League head coach Dwane Casey. “Some of our guys weren’t sure and we didn’t execute offensively, and that’s something that happens in Summer League, and that’s something that we’ll work on tomorrow in practice.”

Next up: The Mavericks return to action Sunday when they face the Golden State Warriors.

Check out Summer League Central 2008 for the box score and more info on the team, including stats, the schedule and standings.