The Clippers triumphed over the Knicks in overtime, 134-128, behind big games from Kawhi Leonard and Paul George and a buzzer-beating three by Nic Batum. All of that was overshadowed, however, by rumors of the Clippers’ interest in Kyrie Irving as a trade target.
Summary
The Clippers’ offense was cooking to start, driven by an aggressive and forceful Paul George. The Clips went up early, and held at least a small lead the entire first half. For most of the first quarter, te Clippers were unable to get much separation, but they extended their lead to double figures at the end of the period behind more three balls. Of note was that Reggie Jackson was the first player off the bench, for Mann, and then Nico and Norm for PG and Zu, followed by Mann returning late for Morris.
To start the second, PG and Zu were back in the game for Mann/Morris and Kawhi, meaning that Ty Lue went with an eight-man rotation. The offense continued to look pretty good for the most part, but some boneheaded turnovers and poor communication on rebounding let the Knicks hang in it. The Clippers went on a run when Mann checked back in for Reggie at the 8 minute mark, and led by 13 at the 6 minute mark, with PG scoring 19 at that point. The Knicks were able to get the lead down to five, but could get no closer, as PG or Kawhi answered each time. At the half, the Clippers led by seven, 63-56.
Both teams started off the period fairly cold, but Morris and PG buckets that put the Clips up 11 forced an early Knicks timeout. Brunson came back on fire for the Knicks, scoring 11 points over the next few minutes, but Kawhi Leonard was there to answer him every step of the way. The Clippers maintained their advantage, and began to grow it once more when Brunson checked out. Even with the bench unit in, the Clippers pushed their advantage, and with 15 Kawhi points in the period held a 15 point lead going into the 4th.
The Clippers briefly went up 17 after a Norm make, but the Knicks came charging back, and forced a Clippers timeout at the 8:50 mark with the lead cut to just eight. With Mann replacing a struggling Jackson, the Clippers found their footing a bit, and brought the lead to 12 in just two minutes, prompting a Knicks timeout. However, the rest of the quarter saw the Knicks consistently chip away at the lead, marked by the same issues that have plagued the Clips all year – stagnant offense, inconsistent defensive rebounding, and lack of force in general on defense. A monstrous and-one Norm Powell dunk on Randle was a highlight, but Norm missed the free throw, and the Knicks continued to push. Jalen Brunson tore the Clippers up, and the Knicks moved the ball effortlessly on offense. The Clippers misfired repeatedly, and the Knicks found themselves up 3 with 18 seconds to go. George missed a three, but Kawhi got the offensive rebound, and the ball found its way to Nic Batum with time expiring. Swish. Overtime.
The Clippers went small in overtime with Nic Batum at center and Norm Powell still in at point guard. Neither team scored the first minute, with a Morris jumper giving the Clippers the first bucket. The Clippers’ defense finally kicked in, with Nic Batum and Kawhi Leonard in particular forcing turnovers and getting stops seemingly every trip down. The Clippers’ offense wasn’t great, but they put the Knicks in the bonus quickly, and had an eight point lead with just a minute left. That last minute, unfortunately, took about 15 minutes of actual time, as the Knicks fouled, the Clippers took free throws, the Knicks scored, and the cycle continued. Some missed free throws and a sloppy turnover had Clippers’ fans worried, but ultimately the game was out of reach, and the Clippers held on for the 134-128 win.
Notes
Eight Man Rotation: As mentioned above, Ty Lue cut the Clippers’ rotation to just eight against the Knicks, with Jackson, Norm, and Nico the only bench players to check in. On one hand, Ty’s rotations have been trending this way, what with Terance starting, the removal of three guard lineups, and his reticence to play RoCo. On the other, going with an eight man rotation with an old and unathletic team in the middle of a crowded schedule on the road is a bit of a puzzler. It worked out in this one, but is clearly not sustainable. Maybe it was Tinkering Ty, maybe he just didn’t like this matchup for Luke or RoCo, or maybe this is a signal those guys ae gone in trades or won’t be real parts of the rotation down the stretch. It’s not how I’d handle the rotations, but I’ve been in disagreement with Ty on that most of the season, and that’s not likely to change any time soon.
Another 4th Quarter Collapse: The Clippers pulled out the win, but getting outscored 34-19 in the 4th quarter was embarrassing. The Clippers continue to melt down late in games, and it’s unclear why. On defense, they just look tired (maybe because they’re old and playing too much!), and on offense they completely devolve into ISO ball. Now, a lot of teams play ISO heavy down the stretch of games, since it’s much less likely to turn the ball over and usually gets at least an ok look at the basket. That’s not really the issue. It’s that the Clippers don’t evn bother getting mismatches on switches before going to ISO. The Knicks were playing either Immanuel Quickley or Jalen Brunson the entire 4th, and while neither of those guys is a bad defender (Brunson in particular is feisty), they’re small guards and have no shot on PG or Kwhi in ISO. Yet did the Clippers try to get those guys switched onto their star wings? Nope! Some people might say that’s where the Clippers could use a vet point guard. Maybe so. But you’d think the coaches, Kawhi, and George could recognize that themselves. This is a long-standing issue that now seems more like a conscious choice than a mistake.
The Kyrie Rumors: The game itself was overshadowed by a Woj bomb that the Clippers are interested in Nets’ star guard Kyrie Irving, a report that was quickly corroborated by beat writers Law Murray and Andrew Greif. I don’t want to go too in-depth on Kyrie, as Lucas already wrote about him as a trade candidate, but we will have more on him if the situation develops further.
