Russell Westbrook ejected after losing cool on dirty foul of Luka Doncic

The Dallas Mavericks took care of the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 3 of their first-round series to take a 2-1 lead. Luka Doncic led the way, scoring 22 points on 7-of-25 shooting with 10 rebounds and nine assists. James Harden (21 points, five assists) and Norman Powell (21 points) were the best players for LA.

It was a tough night all around for the Clippers, who started strong before quickly losing steam. Kawhi Leonard scored nine points in 25 minutes, limited by a lingering knee injury that has him performing well below his normal capacity. Paul George, meanwhile, did not show up in the playoffs, a frustratingly common gripe in Clipperland. He scored seven points on 3-of-11 shooting in 30 minutes.

Not great, Bob!

Naturally, this was a frustrating loss for the Clippers, who are down 2-1 without homecourt advantage. Dallas has all the momentum and, more importantly, the health. This should have been a great series, but unless Kawhi can magically recover or Ty Lue takes a voodoo lesson from Erik Spoelstra, it's hard to imagine the path forward for Los Angeles.

Those frustrations boiled over in the fourth quarter, and to the surprise of nobody, Russell Westbrook was front and center when it happened.

Westbrook was ejected after a scrum in which he pushed both Luka Doncic and P.J. Washington, receiving technical fouls for both acts. Washington, who received a tech earlier in the game, was also tossed.

Here is a video of the chaos.

Russell Westbrook ejected from Clippers-Mavericks Game 3 as tensions boil over

It was only a matter of time. This was a chippy game, especially for Russ, who was assessed a Flagrant 1 in the second quarter when he swiped Josh Green's head on a block attempt in transition.

After the Flagrant, Westbrook was seen mouthing some NSFW words to the Dallas crowd. We know Russ tends to play an emotional brand of basketball — it's what makes him special. It's also what puts him at risk of blowups like this.

Westbrook finished the game with one point, three rebounds, and one assist in 19 minutes. He missed all seven of his shot attempts. For all the energy and leadership Russ provides on the court, this was a prime example of the negative downside associated with his late-stage role-player rebrand. There's not much value in a volatile non-shooter who doesn't consistently defend or create for teammates.

The Clippers face potential do-or-die circumstances in Game 4 on Sunday. We'll see if a better version of Westbrook shows up.