Mavericks 127, Clippers 114
THE MODERATOR: Questions for P.G.
Q. Earlier in the season Kawhi said this team is going to have to endure tough losses. Is this one of those games you have to go through in pursuit of a championship, take these losses and learn from them as you go on?
PAUL GEORGE: Yeah, I mean, like I said, it's (indiscernible). The team we're playing is not a bad team, it's a good team, a good matchup. We battled all year long counting the regular season. This makes no difference.
We expect a tough matchup. We expect a tough challenge. But the good thing about it is we're up for the challenge.
Q. Is this series actually closer than it should be because of who the Clippers are supposed to be?
PAUL GEORGE: I don't get what you're saying. What are the Clippers supposed to be?
Q. A title favorite, two top guys never been in the Playoffs before.
PAUL GEORGE: They're a good team. Goes to show you the west is tough. Eighth seed beat the first seed yesterday. The west is tough. It's a tough conference. Any given night, any team, especially here, can win. We have full-on seen that.
It's no surprise. What you have to do is come ready to play. Tonight was their night.
Q. How frustrating was it for the foul trouble to take you out of your rhythm? The defensive struggles, is it a schematic thing or an effort thing by you guys?
PAUL GEORGE: Just schematic. We'll figure it out. That's all it comes down to, is taking away what they want to get to. But we got to just do a better job of it.
It was, it was tough. It's always tough when you pick up cheap fouls trying to find a rhythm, trying to give your team a boost. It is what it is. I tried to play out of it. Offensively it was a struggling night for me.
Q. There were several times tonight where the Clippers got close to making this a game, then Dallas went on a run. Is there anything that was consistent that happened every time that allowed Dallas to get out of that trouble?
PAUL GEORGE: I thought every time we were putting possessions together, we fouled. We sent them to the line. I thought that really was the game.
We got great stretches where we were playing good, cutting the lead. Then the fouling. We fouled, slowed the game down. It was in their favor at that point.
THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Paul.
PAUL GEORGE: Appreciate it. Thank you, all.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports