If the arm-waving is coordinated properly, the fans whose virtual images fill the 17-foot-tall LED screens ringing the courts at Disney World's Wide World of Sports Complex arenas can create some level of distraction for opponents shooting free throws.
But when Montrezl Harrell stepped to the line midway through the fourth quarter Friday night, during Game 3 of the Los Angeles Clippers' first-round playoff series against Dallas, the backdrop's digital seats were mostly empty.
It was hard to blame the fans during the Mavericks "home" game for abandoning hope.
Two minutes earlier, Dallas second-year star Luka Doncic left the game for good after gamely giving his turned left ankle a try before ultimately returning to the sideline. As he limped off, a phalanx of medical trainers awaited with ice and an extra chair to elevate his leg. The Clippers led, 110-95, against an opponent that ranked among the NBA's worst teams in clutch situations this season.
Dallas did not lay down even without their best player, forcing the Clippers' own superstar, Kawhi Leonard, to take control in the final minutes of a 130-122 victory. His soaring dunk with 5:22 remaining added to his team's double-digit cushion and helped him finish with 36 points, nine rebounds and eight assists on a night when his star teammate, Paul George, continued to struggle shooting.
Leonard has 100 points through his first three games of the postseason, the most ever scored in franchise history.
"I thought his playmaking was incredible tonight," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said of Leonard. "That was a fast-paced game but for Kawhi, he can see the game."
And yet the game and potentially the entire series, which the Clippers now lead 2-1, changed dramatically the moment Doncic came up limping, given that the single-site setup at Disney World allows for games to be played every other day.
"Unsure of the exact severity of Luka's left ankle," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "We'll know more tomorrow."
Doncic scored 10 points, with 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and had begun the game in a fiery mood, elbowing Harrell in the back in the first half before getting in the center's face before the two were separated by teammates and each assessed a technical foul.
