Luka Doncic and defensive

DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic called out to his coaches during a flurry of 3-pointers from James Harden.

The Mavericks superstar and NBA scoring champion wanted to defend the star guard of the Los Angeles Clippers.

It’s suddenly defense first in Dallas.

Doncic had 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and the defensive-minded Mavericks had a chippy 101-90 victory over the Clippers on Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.

The Mavs rode the same defense that gave them home-court advantage with a Game 2 victory in LA, and won in Dallas three years after losing all three first-round games on their floor in a seven-game loss to the Clippers. Game 4 is Sunday in Dallas.

“I think we all see that when we’re on the defensive side, there’s a different look in everybody’s eyes,” said rookie center Dereck Lively II, who had all 13 of his points in the first half as the Mavs got their lob game going with 10 dunks before the break. “It’s like being aggressive and being the aggressor even though they have the ball.”