DALLAS – Quentin Grimes scored 20 points off the bench, including 14 in the fourth quarter, and led eight Mavericks in double figures as Dallas beat the Los Angeles Clippers 113-97 on Saturday night despite the absence of leading scorer Luka Doncic.

Doncic, fifth in the NBA with 28.9 points per game, missed his second straight game because of a bruised left heel.

Klay Thompson scored 16 points and Kyrie Irving and Spencer Dinwiddie had 15 each.

Irving, Dallas’ second-leading scorer with an average of 23.9 points, missed the previous game because of a sore shoulder.

Midway through the final period, Grimes suddenly scored three points in a row and then was fouled on Dallas’ next shot from behind the arc and hit all three free throws.

Norman Powell scored 28 points for the Clippers, who split a two-game series in Dallas. James Harden and Kevin Porter Jr. added 19 each.

The Mavericks outscored the Clippers 31-18 in the second period and led 54-40 at halftime, shooting 47.8% to 22.2%.

Takeaways

Clippers: Ivica Zubac had 13 points and 15 rebounds for his 19th double-double. Harden passed Tim Duncan to move into 16th place in NBA career scoring with 26,503 points.

Mavericks: Dereck Lively II had 11 points and 11 rebounds as Dallas improved to 6-2 without Doncic.

Key moment

Irving was 1 of 10 and 0 of 3 on 3-pointers before making a second-chance 3 with 1:07 left in the first half. From that point on, he shot 5 of 15 with two three-pointers.

Key statistics

The Mavericks led the bench with 46-24 points, followed by Grimes, Daniel Gafford with 13 and Naji Marshall with 12.

Next

The Clippers will finish a three-game road trip against the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night. The Mavericks host the Portland Trail Blazers in the third game of a four-game homestand.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba