"Clippers beating the choke allegations" - NBA fans on edge as Clippers escape near 31-point lead blowout vs Mavericks

The LA Clippers have tied their series against the Dallas Mavericks 2-2 after a spirited Game 4 performance, but they almost fell to 3-1. Despite Kawhi Leonard being unavailable due to injury, the team rallied under the leadership of Paul George as they established their dominance early, taking a 23-point lead to end the first quarter.

PG and Co remained hot for the rest of the first half as their lead grew as much as 31 points in the second quarter. But the situation started to change in the third quarter. The Mavs finally found some momentum, and they chipped away at the deficit, shrinking it to only four points before the final quarter.

From there, the game became tightly contested, and the once huge lead for the Clippers was at risk of turning into a loss. But in the end, they were able to fight off their opponent's valiant comeback effort and hold on for a 116-111 win.

Fans went through a roller coaster of emotions as the Clippers went from dominating the game to barely hanging on for the win. Several fans expressed their elation at the victory through X.

"Clippers beating the choke allegations," @klayvsthewrld tweeted.

"Harden and George were so locked," @spomuse said.

"No Kawhi no problem," @ClawWRLD added.

While some fans were happy that the Clippers won, others could not help but take a shot at the Mavs.

"Clippers are winning in 6 Luka can't keep up," @PullUpShai said.

"Mavs are done for," @underr8edchris added.

"The Mavericks really blew a chance to go up 3-1 without Kawhi," @BronWorld pointed out.

Game 5 of this exciting opening-round matchup will be at the Clippers' homecourt on Wednesday.

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Why was Kawhi Leonard not in the Clippers rotation?

Kawhi Leonard's career has been plagued by numerous injuries, causing him to miss several games, including a full season in 2021-22. This trend continued for the two-time defensive player of the year, who was once again sidelined as his team battled to tie their series against the Mavs.

The "Klaw" missed Game 4 due to right knee inflammation, the same ailment that caused him to miss Game 1 of the series.

The inflammation kept him out of the lineup in his team's playoff opener; Kawhi was also unavailable for the last eight games of the regular season. During that time, LA went 4-4.

This season, Kawhi played 68 games. His most since 2016-17, when he suited up for 74 contests for the San Antonio Spurs. This was the first time he played over 60 games in a season for the Clippers. Prior to this year, he had only suited up for 161 games since 2019-20.

According to the team's latest report, Leonard is sidelined indefinitely and might not return against the Dallas Mavericks. However, the team hopes he will be healthy enough to come back for a deeper postseason run.