O Dallas Mavericks They probably haven’t made plans for their summer vacation yet.
With their Western Conference first-round playoff series with the Clippers Tied at 2-2, the Mavericks could see their season end as early as Friday night. In this case, Dallas players might actually appreciate the content of a nearby billboard Arena Crypto.com for Game 5 on Wednesday night.
But probably not.
The ad in Los Angeles live was placed by global travel company Skyscanner in the building at 1011 S. Figueroa St., across Chick Hearn Court from the Clippers’ current facility.
It says in big letters: “Dallas to Cancun.” In smaller print below it says: “For great flights to Cancun, visit Skyscanner.”
There’s no mention of the NBA, its teams or the playoffs, but the implication is clear – it’s time for the Mavericks to start planning their vacation because this series is essentially over.
See more information: Clippers’ James Harden played his best with Kawhi Leonard sidelined
Andre Le Masurier, global head of brand at Skyscanner, told The Times via email on Wednesday that the idea behind the billboard “wasn’t just to troll the Mavs, just to have fun and mess around a bit.”
“We are a global company, made up of NBA fans, basketball fans and sports culture in general,” said Le Masurier. “We saw this moment as a fantastic opportunity to interact with Clippers and Mavericks fans and showcase some of our values and personality.”
O Clippers told The Times in an emailed statement Wednesday that “the LA Live billboard is not owned or operated by the Clippers.”
“We have the utmost respect for our opponents and in no way endorse this message,” the Clippers added.
According to Le Masurier, the ad was inspired by the “1-2-3, Cancun!” staff which was first uttered by Nick Van Exel and other Lakers players in 1998, when they were about to be eliminated from the playoffs by the Utah Jazz.
“We always thought the ‘1, 2, 3, Cancún’ meme was super fun, so when our creative partners at Courage Inc. came to us with the idea of doing something clever and supporting the local team, we couldn’t resist,” said Le Masurier.
“We thought it would be a fun way to bring attention to Skyscanner with some fun pranks on a giant billboard outside one of the NBA’s most famous arenas, where this cultural phenomenon was born. The trash talk, trolling and rivalries are part of what makes the sport so attractive. But win or lose, Mexico is always a great place to recharge and Skyscanner is one of the best to help you get out for less.”
See more information: Tyronn Lue helping Clippers with a ‘plan’ to win the series
Of course, the series is anything but over.
Each team won a game at the Crypto.com Arena. The seeded room Clippers won game 1 over the fifth-place Mavericks 109-97 without the services of Kawhi Leonardtheir star player who had an inflamed right knee. Leonard returned for game 2scoring 15 points on seven-of-17 shooting and missing all five three-point attempts in 35 minutes during Dallas’ 96-93 victory.
The series moved to Dallas where Leonard had nine points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes as the Clippers lost 101-90 in Game 3. Leonard made a mistake Game 4 with the same knee problems, but the Clippers won 116-114 ago James Hardenwho finished with 33 points and scored 11 of the team’s final 16 points.
Leonard has been declared out of Game 5. The teams will return to Dallas on Friday for Game 6.
If there is a Game 7, it will be Sunday at Crypto.com Arena, after which members of one of the teams can actually find themselves on Skyscanner or another travel service booking their vacation.
“We hope Clippers fans It is The Mavs laugh about it,” Le Masurier said of his company’s announcement.
This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.
