DALLAS: Don't count out Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and the Los Angeles (LA) Clippers just yet.

Not even a raucous party atmosphere and big early Dallas lead in Luka Doncic's home playoff debut could keep the Clippers from getting back in a first-round series after a two-game flop in LA.

Leonard scored 36 points and George had 22 of his 29 points in the first half to help the Clippers recover from another slow start in a 118-108 victory on Friday (Saturday in Manila). Dallas takes a 2-1 series lead into Game 4 on Sunday (Monday in Manila).

'It's just adversity,' said George, who combined with Leonard to make 24 of 35 shots as LA finished at 58 percent. 'You've got to deal with adversity. We didn't get down on ourselves. We just stayed positive. We rallied. We toughed it out. We just stuck to our principles; kept playing.'

Doncic fed the frenzy of 17,705 fans, more than three times the size of any crowd in a season that started with an empty arena, by making his first four shots, three of them 3-pointers, on his way to a playoff career-high 44 points as Dallas took a 30-11 lead.

LA's 14-0 run erased most of the deficit before the end of the first quarter, and George gave the Clippers its first lead on a 3-pointer in the second quarter as they answered two losses at home to start the series.

'Just stay the course,' Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. 'They came out; the crowd was electric. The fans gave them a lot of juice early. Let's just stick with the game plan. Luka's going to hit some shots early, which he always does.'

The Clippers ended a five-game postseason losing streak, going back to last year's Florida playoff 'bubble' when LA beat Dallas in six games in the first round before blowing a 3-1 lead in the second round against Denver.