Dallas Basketball

Today in Mavs History: Luka Doncic Hits Playoff Buzzer Beater vs. Clippers

Through a legendary first five years of his career, Luka Doncic's stardom hit another level during the 2020 NBA playoffs led by this buzzer beater.
Michael Mulford|
Today in Mavs History: Luka Doncic Hits Playoff Buzzer Beater vs. Clippers
Today in Mavs History: Luka Doncic Hits Playoff Buzzer Beater vs. Clippers

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Dallas Mavericks

Though today, Aug. 23, was quiet on the Dallas Mavericks news front, that doesn’t mean the day doesn’t hold a special place in the heart of Mavs fans all over the world. 

On this day in 2020, the Mavs found themselves down 2-1 in the first round of the playoffs against the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA Bubble. This followed the league’s 2019-20 regular season taking a four-month hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In Game 4, Dallas faced a potential 3-1 deficit if they couldn’t outlast the Clippers in a game that went back-and-forth throughout the whole night. The game eventually went into overtime after the Clippers outscored the Mavs by eight in the fourth quarter. 

In OT, it was who else but Luka Doncic who continued his Game 4 heroics to put the Mavericks on his back. He went into extra period already leading the Mavs with 36 points, but he kept firing and scored half of Dallas’ points in OT, including the shot heard around the world. 

With 3.7 seconds remaining, and the Mavs down by one, Doncic caught the inbound pass from Dorian Finney-Smith and hit a stepback 3-pointer from 27-feet over Clippers guard Reggie Jackson to steal the game from Los Angeles and tie the series at 2-2. 

Doncic finished the game with an electric triple-double: 43 points, 17 rebounds, and 13 assists on 18-of-31 shooting from the floor. Said Doncic: "One of the best feelings I've ever had as a player. ... Just something special.”

Though Doncic and the Mavericks went on to lose the series in six games, the miraculous play of Dallas’ new star in Game 4 still lives on and officially put Doncic on the map as an NBA superstar. 

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Michael Mulford
MICHAEL MULFORD

Michael Mulford is a writer/editor for Dallas Basketball, where he extensively covers the Dallas Mavericks. He also covers the Chicago Bulls as the Managing Editor for Bulls Wire of USA Today Sports Media Group. Mulford grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and graduated from the University of North Texas in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Recreation, Event, and Sports Management. He began his pursuit of sports writing in 2017 with Dallas Sports Fanatic, where he covered the Mavericks’ G League affiliate, Texas Legends. He then became the Managing Editor of Dallas Sports Fanatic just one year later and has covered the Mavericks as a credentialed media member since 2018, including covering numerous playoff games between 2021-22 and covering the team at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in 2019. In his time covering the Mavericks, Mulford has conducted numerous interviews for exclusive stories including with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, former Maverick and current VP of Basketball Ops Michael Finley, former Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson, and more. You can follow and interact with Mulford on Twitter at @TheMulf.

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