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Clippers Explode on Offense, Top Knicks 144-122
The Clippers picked up their seventh win in a row with a dominant victory over the visiting New York Knicks.
Game Summary
The Clippers got off to a strong early start, largely powered by Ivica Zubac, who had a massive poster on Jericho Sims and then got him into quick foul trouble. While the Clippers looked better than the Knicks early, the Knicks hit more threes, and thus were able to stay attached. As usual, Russ and Norm checked in for Harden and Mann, and both guys scored quickly. However, Donte DiVincenzo remained hot, knocking in two more threes (4-4 in the period) to keep the Clips at bay. The bench continued to trickle in, with Amir Coffey replacing Kobe Brown in the rotation, and the Clippers still looked great. Unfortunately, a bad last minute got the Knicks to down just 2 points after the first period.
The Clippers adjusted their rotation a bit, subbing in Harden (usual) and Mann (unusual) for Russ and Kawhi. This unit went up and down with the Knicks for a couple of minutes, with the only notable incident being Josh Hart’s ejection with 9:28 to go due to two quick technical fouls after complaining to the refs on a foul. Despite the Clippers’ continued strong offensive play headed by Harden, the Knicks once again kept pace, with Hartenstein being a major thorn in the side. In the middle of the period, with both team’s starters back in, the Clippers went cold, and Brunson heated up, giving the Knicks a 51-47 lead. From there, the Clippers locked in, forcing turnovers or tough shots and cashing open looks in transition. Some more dramatics late (Randle getting a tech for unnecessary physicality after a play) could not obscure a brilliant close, with all Clippers contributing. Kawhi’s 20 points on 6-8 shooting (2-2 from three, 6-6 from the line) led both teams.
The Clippers continued their fantastic play from the latter 2nd quarter, moving the ball exceptionally well on offense and holding the Knicks to just one shot per possession. Kawhi and Paul George dominated early and throughout, with RJ Barrett being the main Knick opposing them. Around halfway through the quarter, Russ came in for Harden with the Clips now up 17. A further flurry by Kawhi and PG brought the lead to 22 with 2:53 to go and forcing a Knicks timeout. From there, disaster. Some awful shots and poor transition defense surrendered a 9-0 Knicks run in 66 seconds, bringing the lead down to 12. The Clippers then got key buckets from Kawhi, Norm, and Russ to push the lead back to 16 after three.
Ty Lue kept Russ in, but brought Paul George in for Kawhi. The Clippers were able to maintain a 16-18 point lead for the first few minutes, but after Russ missed a pair of free throws, Harden was brought in for him at the 9:03 mark. Harden immediately threw an amazing pass to Norm for a corner 3, splash. Another Hartenstein offensive board and put back saw the return of Ivica Zubac at the 7:27 mark with the Clippers up 19. The Clippers’ defense then tightened, and Harden’s maestro passing plus Clippers making shots had the lead at 24 halfway through the period. Thibs pulled his starters, and Ty did a minute later, with the game going to garbage time.
Notes
Big Three Steps Up: This was a model game for the Clippers’ new big three of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and James Harden, each of whom finished with impressive stats in fairly limited minutes. Kawhi is playing dominant ball right now, with the game just looking so easy on offense. He scored 36 points on a crazy 12-16 shooting night, and made 5-6 threes and all seven free throws for good measure. Paul George had 25 points on 18 shots after a slow start, and also had 7 assists as the secondary playmaker. Harden ran the show, taking just six shots (and scoring 10 total) but dishing 12 assists to just 1 turnover. Kawhi was the main focal point on offense, Harden the lead ball-handler and distributor, and PG was deadly off ball and in secondary action as well as transition. The three of them look great together, and the chemistry should only grow from here.
So Do the Other Starters: Terance Mann and Ivica Zubac’s statlines were not nearly as glamorous, but both player their roles to near perfection. Terance had 13 points on 4-8 shooting, and after missing a couple threes badly early drained two huge ones in the second quarter that sparked the Clippers’ big run. And Zu continued his exceptional defense, with the drop-off when he wasn’t in the game incredibly noticeable. Zu had another double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds and is playing the best basketball of his career right now.
Amir Over Kobe: The only true change to the now largely-set rotation in this one was Amir Coffey getting the 9th rotation spot over Kobe Brown after his great game against the Warriors. And, honestly, while I think Kobe has had some nice moments and is certainly a much more natural “four” than Amir, Amir is just a better NBA rotation player at this stage. Amir was quiet in this one, though his 3 in the mid-4th was a bit of a dagger. Still, he’s solid defensively and a threat to shoot, so his getting that 10-12 minute run seems like a wise plan.
Brandon Boston Season Debut: It’s a minor footnote, but Brandon Boston Jr. got to play this season for the first time (in the NBA at least) after missing around two months with a calf strain. Boston only played in garbage time, but it was good to see him out there. He and Jordan Miller have both been great down in Ontario for the G-League squad.