Luka Doncic was unstoppable at the end instead of the beginning in the rematch with the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Dallas superstar couldn’t quite do enough to get one of these teams an elusive sweep in their repetitive two-game sets.

Reggie Jackson scored 24 points and the Clippers held off the Mavericks in the final minute for a 99-97 victory Saturday night for another split between the teams.

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Doncic had 23 of his 45 points in the fourth quarter two nights after scoring 28 of his career-high 51 points in the first of Dallas’ 112-105 win. Doncic had 15 rebounds and eight assists.

Doncic, who scored the last 19 Dallas points after a 3-pointer by Reggie Bullock with 4:55 remaining, had the Mavericks within one on a layup with eight seconds to go.

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After a timeout, Jackson took an inbound pass while sprinting away from Jalen Brunson and managed to run the clock down to 3.4 seconds before Dallas got the foul.

Jackson made one of two free throws, and Doncic’s step-back shot from near midcourt at the buzzer was wide right and a little short.

“Luka was great and then we had the ball to tie it or win it,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. “That’s all you can ask when we didn’t play well tonight. But we found a way to put ourselves in position.”

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About to turn 23 and preparing for his third All-Star game, Doncic was 15 of 33 from the field, 6 of 13 from 3 and 9 of 13 from the line.

With 96 points in the two games, Doncic had the most in a two-game span against the same opponent since Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 for Philadelphia against Seattle in December 1967, according to STATS Inc.

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Tip-Ins

Clippers: Norman Powell was out with a toe injury in his fourth game since being acquired from Portland in a trade. … Rodney Hood was available off the bench for his debut after the trade that brought him and Semi Ojeleye from Milwaukee in the four-team deal that sent Serge Ibaka to the Bucks. Ojeleye will join the team in LA.

Mavericks: Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans, acquired two days ago in the trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Washington, met with reporters but weren’t available to play. That means their Dallas debuts should be on the upcoming five-game road trip. … Dorian Finney-Smith had a quiet night with three points on the same day the club announced a $56 million, four-year contract extension for the undrafted sixth-year player.

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Up next

Clippers: Golden State at home Monday. The Warriors won the first two meetings.

Mavericks: At Miami on Tuesday to start a five-game trip that will finish on the West Coast.