Clippers put it all together in win
The plan sounded simple. To keep the Boston Celtics’ duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown away from the perimeter, all the Clippers had to do was close them out, run them off the line and be ready to block out on the backside.
In other words, defend and defend some more.
“It’s definitely going to be a multiple-effort night defensively,” Coach Tyronn Lue said. “If we don’t have multiple efforts, it could be a tough night for us.”
Lue got that and more. The Celtics, behind the pinpoint shooting of Tatum and Brown, came into the game averaging 39.7% from beyond the arc making any given night difficult for opponents. Even Lue said the two cause opponents to focus their energies on stopping them.
“It’s tough. Jaylen is playing at a high level and Tatum’s playing at the MVP level,” Lue said. “Best duo in the league.”
On Monday, however, they weren’t necessarily the best duo on the floor. That distinction belonged to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The two Clippers stars combined for 51 points and 15 rebounds in a 113-93 victory at Crypto.com Arena.
George finished with 26 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Leonard had 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
This is what Lue and the
Up next: fans have been waiting 28 games to see. Both stars healthy. Both on the court at the same time. Both moving well. Both scoring and both coming up big against the league’s best team.
The Celtics (21-6) came into the game with the best offensive rating of 121.0, the highest in NBA history, and with two players who were averaging 56.8 points per game. The only other teammates in recent NBA history to rate higher were Shaquille O’Neal with Kobe Bryant (2000-01 and 2002-03) and James Harden with Russell
Westbrook in Houston (1999-20).
Tatum scored 20 points and Brown had 21; combined they made just 3 of 14 3-pointers. As a team, the Celtics shot 9 of 36 (23.1) from beyond the arc, while the Clippers made 10 of 25 (40%) of their long-range shots.
The hundreds of greenclad Celtics fans that came to Monday’s game no doubt were counting on watching their team demolish the Clippers. But the Clippers (1613) had won the previous two games against Boston, both close contests.
This wasn’t close.
The Clippers led by as many as 24 points (104-80) after a 12-foot jump shot by Leonard with 6:37 left to play, following up a 24-foot 3-pointer less than a minute earlier. The Clippers didn’t let up. Luke Kennard, who had watched his 3-point shots falter as of late, made 2 of 5 and finished with 12 points.
Marcus Morris Sr. scored 13 points and John Wall had six points and four assists. Terance Mann contributed nine points.
The Clippers stretched a nine-point halftime lead to 71-57 on a layup by center Ivica Zubac off an assist from Leonard with 6:27 left in the third quarter.
Zubac had been listed as questionable earlier in the day because of a strained groin muscle he tweaked in Saturday’s game against Washington. But his struggles Monday wasn’t so much of his injury but four early fouls. He finished with four points and three rebounds.