LOS ANGELES — Clippers point guard Reggie Jackson tumbled to the floor early in Saturday’s afternoon game. He got up slowly and returned to the action, but his discomfort was obvious as he limped to the sideline.
His pain could be felt on the bench, where injured stars Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Luke Kennard and Norman Powell already were seated. Would Jackson join them?
After a brief visit to the locker room, though, Jackson returned to the lineup. By then, however, the Clippers were self-destructing against the resurgent Sacramento Kings.
With a quarter of their team nursing injuries, the Clippers had little in reserve and lost their second in a row, falling 123-96 at Crypto.com Arena.
The Clippers knew what they were in for Saturday. After losing their first four games of the season, including a 111-109 defeat to the Clippers, Sacramento had won 11 of its next 16 games, which included a string of seven consecutive victories.
It’s the franchise’s best record through the first 20 games since 2004-05.
“We’re all a little better, including myself,” Kings coach Mike Brown said about how his team has changed since playing the Clippers on Oct. 22. “We have a better feel for what our role needs to be. We’re all embracing our roles well. I have a better feel of substitutions and what we want to do at the end of games and stuff like that.
“The guys have a better feel of what our defensive concepts are. And same with our offensive concepts. With that comes a little confidence.”
Even with Jackson on the floor, the Clippers (13-11) were ineffective in stopping Domantas Sabonis, who had 24 points on 10-of-11 shooting and six assists despite foul trouble. The Kings also got productive minutes from Keegan Murray (20 points, six rebounds), De’Aaron Fox (14 points) and Malik Monk (13 points).
The Clippers were led by Ivica Zubac, who struggled to find any room against Sabonis, and finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds. Terance Mann scored 13 points and John Wall added 12.
The Clippers showed some signs of life at the start of the fourth quarter, cutting the Kings’ lead to 90-74. The Kings responded by reinserting their starting lineup; minutes later, the lead was back to 25.
The increasing number of injured Clippers left Lue little choice than to go to deep on the bench for available bodies. Rookie center Moussa Diabate and second-year player Brandon Boston Jr. (18 points) both saw action in the first quarter and into the second half.
Rookie guard Jason Preston (nine points) also got an opportunity, joining Robert Covington, Amir Coffey, Diabate and Boston Jr. on the floor in the second half.
The first half couldn’t have started any worse for the Clippers. They made just two of their first nine shots – both by Mann. Two of the attempts were airballs and the team had three turnovers in less than three minutes.
The Kings ran off eight consecutive points for an 11-4 lead before Lue called timeout. His second timeout came as the Kings padded their lead, 20-8.
Then, as if things could go more wrong, Jackson tumbled to the ground in the first quarter, getting up gingerly. He continued to play with a limp, eventually heading into the locker room. The Clippers trailed 38-24 after the first quarter.
It was the second hard fall Jackson has taken this week. Against Portland on Tuesday, Jackson went up for a layup, tried to avoid contact, lost his balance and crashed to the ground, hitting the back of his head. Like Saturday, he returned to the game and played against Utah the next day.
“If he feels that he can play, and Reggie is one of those guys, he wants to get on the floor at all times,” Lue said. “So, we got to make sure we’re smart and doing the right thing with our medical staff.”
Jackson eventually returned to the floor. By then the Kings had run off to a 47-24 lead that the Clippers couldn’t overcome. In fact, it got worse as the Kings carried a 60-38 lead into halftime.
Leave a Reply