Kings hand Clippers second straight loss
LOS ANGELES » For the first time, though likely not the last, the Clippers dropped two games in a row.
“It’s gonna happen. It’s gonna happen again, too,” said Tyronn Lue, his shrug on the Zoom screen an indication that he isn’t overly worried about the Clippers’ recent turn of fortune, including the fact that, after having won 10 of 12, they chased Friday’s loss to Boston with a 113-110 defeat Sunday at Staples Center to the surging Sacramento Kings.
The common denominator in both losses: Paul George’s absence. Without him, the Clippers are a solo superstar show, with teams able to hone their focus on
Kawhi Leonard while his costar remains sidelined, with no timetable for return, due to swelling in his right toe.
So before Luke Walton’s team spoiled the Clippers’ claim as the only team left in the NBA without two consecutive losses, Sacramento’s coach said he wouldn’t view Sunday’s result as any sort of barometer, especially considering that they were missing George and starting guard Patrick Beverley.
But maybe Walton could use this one — a tightly contested tug-of-war with a Western Conference rival that he described as “maybe the best team in the NBA” — as a measuring stick?
Playing their style of ball, the quick-footed Kings improved to 12-11 by winning their fourth straight and for the seventh time in eight games .
They’ve been paced of late by De’Aaron Fox, who is averaging 27 points per game in the Kings’ past eight outings, and whose velocity on Sunday Clippers guard Reggie Jackson compared to a high-performance sports car: “That man’s moving at Bugatti speed.”
Fox made it clear last week that he wants no part of this season’s All-Star Game, but he looked the part of an AllStar on Sunday, with a gamehigh 36 points on 15-for25 shooting. He also had a game-high seven assists.
His effort included backto-back 3s that put the Kings up 103-101 with 4:09 left, and a putback floater that made it 107-104 with 2:25 to play.
“I remember joking one time on the court that it must be nice that when shots aren’t falling you can just switch it into a different gear and start running by guys, attacking seams,” said Jackson, who also praised Fox’s start-and-stop ability, as well as his handle and his on-court IQ.
“It feels like there’s not a seam that he can’t hit. Every team in the league, when you prepare for the Sacramento Kings, he’s first on your board, you know he’s the head of the snake, he gets things going. He really had it going tonight, led them to a win.”
Conversely, the noontime start found the Clippers flatfooted. Although Lue insisted pregame that his squad had shaken off the midday doldrums,
with the loss L.A. (17-8) fell to 3-2 in early-afternoon starts this season, including a victory over Chicago that required a substantial second-half surge.
Afterward, Lue had to admit that his squad -- or his starting unit, at least on Sunday -- tends not to be at its best in matinee play.
“Yeah, we’ve had a couple that we just wasn’t able to have any spark, any punch,” Lue said. “Our starters really didn’t have much, but I thought our bench really came off the bench and did a great job.
“Our bench came in and did a tremendous job,” Lue added. “Our bench was really good with Zu and Lou, Marcus, Terance Mann. They were really good off the bench. They kind of saved the game for us as far as being in it.”
Ivica Zubac (12 points, 14 rebounds), Lou Williams (23 points, five assists, two steals), Marcus Morris Sr. (16 points) and Terance Mann (an active six points, six steals, three assists and two steals), the four off the bench Sunday, all had positive plus-minus tallies on the score sheet. They combined to shoot a respectable 18 for 41 (43.9%) from the field. The Clippers’ starters, on the other hand, shot a tired-legged 23 for 58 (39.6%)
As a team, the Clippers made only 8 of their 28 tries from (28.6%) behind the 3-point arc -- the second-fewest made 3s and the secondworst 3-point shooting percentage this season.
“Some of the shots went in and out,” said Leonard, who came by his 20-and-10 double-double by way of a 9-for21 effort from the field. “Some of our pace was pretty low, majority of the game. Just give credit to Sac, they did a good job and came in ready.”