The Clippers missed out on an opportunity to secure their first win streak of the season as the Cavaliers marched into Staples Center and handed L.A. a 92-79 loss. Keep reading for a full recap of the loss.
SUMMARY
All that had gone well for the Clippers in Monday night’s 116-86 victory over the Trail Blazers failed to carry over into Wednesday night’s game against the Cavs. Cleveland’s size was an issue from the jump, as their length on the defensive side of the ball forced L.A. into eight first-quarter turnovers and just 14 points on 4 of 21 shooting.
The Clips found a tad bit more offense to start the second quarter, but their solid opening-quarter defense began falling apart. An extremely small-ball lineup preceded an awful-looking zone defense that bled multiple easy Cleveland baskets, highlighted by Collin Sexton’s third dunk of the game — a poster over Nic Batum that gave the Cavs a 14-point lead. Paul George scored his first points of the match, shortly after, and reeled off six more in a matter of minutes to keep the contest from getting too far out of hand. A 16-9 Clippers run ensued and Cleveland’s lead was cut to just seven at the half.
The Cavs briefly slipped during the beginning minutes of the third quarter as their once 15-point lead dwindled to as little as three points thanks to a more assertive Clippers offense. Eric Bledsoe repeatedly touched the paint and kicked out to spot-up shooters, but the Clips were mostly bailed out by some incredibly tough shot-making. Cleveland punched back behind scoring efforts from Sexton and Darius Garland to reclaim control of the game and take a 72-64 lead into the final frame.
Ricky Rubio diced up the Clips out of the pick and roll at the start of the fourth and extended Cleveland’s lead to 14. L.A. regressed back to its first-quarter offensive woes as their 4/14 shooting eight minutes into the fourth halted any comeback attempt that they may have had brewing. Ty Lue eventually threw in the towel with about three minutes remaining and the Clippers fell to the Cavs 92-79.
GAME NOTES
- Effort – The Cavs set the tone early by bullying the Clippers on the offensive glass and outhustling them to a large first-quarter lead. As a result, L.A. played the entire game from behind and failed to mount a comeback.
- Offense – There wasn’t much going on for the Clippers’ offense in this game. Even when they were able to put points on the board it was largely due to contested shots off the dribble. Paul George, Nic Batum, and Reggie Jackson, in particular, bailed L.A. out throughout the game.
- Not enough Mann – In a game that lacked energy and rhythm, Terance Mann played just 13 minutes over the first three quarters; that’s with Kawhi Leonard, Serge Ibaka, and Marcus Morris Sr. all out. Simply put, that can’t happen if the Clippers are serious about winning.
UP NEXT
The Clippers will look to avoid a second-straight loss as they head to the Pacific Northwest for a Friday night showdown with the Portland Trail Blazers. Follow the game live at 7 pm PT on Bally Sports SoCal or A.M. 570, and return here to 213Hoops for game coverage.