Dealing with the NBA’s high group and one of many league’s elite gamers, the Clippers wanted to be at their finest Sunday in the event that they have been to increase their profitable streak to 6 video games.
However they did not ship within the remaining seconds towards the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, dropping 103-101 in a tense battle on the Intuit Dome.
“A lot of turnovers. Even at the end of the fourth, we had two or three turnovers at the end,” Kawhi Leonard stated. “Yeah, we fought hard. We was in the game the whole game. Just calls could have gone either way. But salute to them. They’ve been the best team in the league.”
The Clippers missed a chance to tie the sport when Derrick Jones Jr. made solely one in every of two free throws with 1:22 left, leaving the Clippers down 101-100 earlier than issues actually began to unravel.
Two pricey turnovers, together with one by Ivica Zubac after he fumbled the ball out of bounds with 1:01 left, ended one probability to take the lead. Then, with 21 seconds left, Norman Powell missed a shot, and after Zubac received the offensive rebound, Kawhi Leonard missed a shot with 4 seconds remaining.
The loss dropped the Clippers (40-31) to eighth in an more and more tight Western Convention postseason race. They’re one sport out of sixth place for the ultimate computerized playoff berth with 11 video games left.
“I already played in the play-in and I ain’t trying to do that again,” stated Powell, who completed with 9 factors. “So, you’re watching closely on positioning, wanting teams to lose, want to keep the way we’re playing going. Bounce back on this road trip. But, yeah, definitely, everybody is trying to avoid that play-in right now.”
Gilgeous-Alexander, held to seven-for-29 taking pictures from the ground, completed with 26 factors. He made all 11 of his free-throw makes an attempt, together with two within the remaining seconds.
Leonard had 25 factors and 10 rebounds. James Harden, who completed with 17 factors, moved previous Moses Malone for eleventh on the NBA’s all-time scoring listing. Zubac had 15 factors and 11 rebounds.
After the sport, Harden limped across the locker room. He had been kneed within the left thigh by Thunder guard Luguentz Dort within the third quarter. Harden stated he rolled his foot through the play.
The Thunder, who swept the season collection towards the Clippers, have the NBA’s finest file at 59-12 and the league’s main scorer and most respected participant candidate in Gilgeous-Alexander (32.9 factors per sport).
Lue thanked his teaching workers for preserving the group in good condition.
“I feel a lot better,” Lue stated. “I’m just going to take it day by day, game by game. … The pain from my shoulder and back kind of went down my leg a little bit. … I feel really good as far as my back and shoulder. Now, it’s just trying to get the leg part better, but I do feel better from that regard. That’s what was giving me the most problems.”
