The Clippers fought hard and played well in stretches, but cold shooting and a tough Knicks team outplayed them over 48 minutes and secured the victory. Keep reading for a full recap of the Clippers’ loss to the Knicks.
Summary
I’ll keep this one pretty short and sweet. After starting off the game shooting fairly well and with good ball movement, the Clippers’ offense was in disarray for much of the rest of the game. The Knicks are a very good defensive team, so they certainly had a lot to do with that, but the Clippers also missed a bunch of open shots and had many unforced errors. Bright spots for the Clippers on offense included the big man tandem of Ivica Zubac and DeMarcus Cousins, Nic Batum (probably the best overall Clipper), and kind of Reggie Jackson and Rajon Rondo (not bad numbers, but not quite enough juice).
The Clippers’ defense was inconsistent, but mostly quite solid outside of a few questionable decisions on rotations and closing out on shooters. They limited the Knicks to 106 points, which is nearly always enough to win in the NBA in 2021, but were undone by a scorching Derrick Rose and former Clipper Reggie Bullock. Every time the Clippers got a stop they failed to convert on offense, and every time they scored, Rose, Bullock, or Julius Randle (late in the game) answered. Many of the Knicks’ buckets (especially those of Rose and Randle) were well-guarded – the shots just happened to fall.
Notes
Make or Miss League: Derrick Rose shot 11-17 from the field and 2-3 from three, with many of those being exceedingly difficult floaters and midrange jumpers. Julius Randle, as mentioned above, made several very tough shots to close the game out as well. Meanwhile, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Marcus Morris shot a combined 19-55 from the field. And while plenty of those were contested as well, those guys will nearly always shoot a fair amount better than that if given the exact same looks. Sometimes, basketball is as simple as making shots or not making shots. The Knicks made shots in this game, the Clippers didn’t.
Ibaka Back Soon: After the game, Nic Batum said that Serge Ibaka will travel with the Clippers on their upcoming road trip. While this doesn’t mean that he will return in that stretch, it’s a very good sign, and there’s at least a possibility that Serge will be back before the playoffs start. What happens with rotations at that point remains unknown, but hopefully the Clippers will be able to sort it all out before too long.
Mann and Luke Out of Rotation: Ty Lue has said that he will be experimenting with lineups down the stretch of the season, and we saw that today. After playing at least one of Terance Mann or Luke Kennard in the rotation just about all season, neither young guard saw the court today, as Lue played a tighter 9-man rotation. This could be a precedent for the playoffs, or it could just be Lue tinkering. However, Mann’s role in particular has shrunk in recent weeks, and Luke has mostly been out of the rotation for a while, so this seemed like a look into Lue’s playoff rotation (though hopefully Serge will be in there too). I’ve been on record as believing in Mann as a playoff option, but Lue might go vet-heavy in the postseason, at least to start.
That about does it for this recap of the Clippers’ Mother Day loss to the Knicks. Hope you all enjoy the rest of the day with your families!
