The Clippers survived a miserable 2nd quarter to beat the Cavs 121-98, powered by a hot shooting night from Paul George. Check out the full game recap of the Clippers’ win over the Cavs below.
Summary
Both teams started the game red hot. The Clippers, especially Paul George, attacked the basket early, and were able to get some hoops around the rim. On the other end, Collin Sexton returned the favor, draining floater after floater against the dropping Clippers defense. However, the Clippers’ firepower and shooting outweighed the Cavs, with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard each dropping in 10 points in a myriad of ways. Unfortunately, the offense dried up when the bench came in, with all of Lou, Luke, and Morris looking out of sorts early. The defense slowed the Cavs’ attack too, but the damage was done, Darius Garland’s own floater game got the Clips lead from 13 to 8.
The second quarter was one of the Clippers’ worst of the entire season. They simply could not get anything going on offense, with Ivica Zubac getting stripped several times in the paint, Luke looking hesitant, and Lou missing shots or turning the ball over. The Cavs, meanwhile, heated up, with Garland and Sexton darting into the paint at will and hitting floater after floater. The Clippers’ starters came back, but it didn’t really matter – the offense failed to move, and the defense remained a half step slow. Finally, Kawhi Leonard was able to shake free a bit towards the end of the quarter, and his couple of baskets combined with a buzzer-beating jumper from Nic Batum gave the Clips a three-point lead at halftime.
The third quarter has been Kawhi Leonard’s time to shine this year, and while he did plenty in the period, in this one, it was all Paul George. He hit a three early, threw down a monster dunk, and then made another couple of threes for good measure. The Cavs continued to fight back, especially Sexton, but the Clippers lead was able to get to the low teens, and their overall execution was much improved. Their play worsened when Paul George left the game, as more turnovers and bad shot selection kept the Cavs in it. Then, Paul George came back, and all was well, as he made two more threes (including another buzzer-beater) to push the Clippers’ lead back to 14.
The time off between periods did not slow down George, who made another three. From then on, it was the Lou and Zu show. Lou dominated on offense, getting to whatever spots he wanted on the court and either scoring or dishing to teammates for assists or hockey assists. Zu was the recipient of several of those looks, and in this half, actually went up strong and finished. On the other end, he also went up strong, staying vertical on Andre Drummond drives and then collecting the rebounds to prevent more Cavs’ possessions. With Kawhi and Paul George putting the finishing touches on the run, the Clippers had a 22 point lead with 4 minutes to go, and the rest of the contest was garbage time.
Notes
PG Lethal: This is up there with one of Paul George’s best performances as a Clipper. PG poured in 36 points on 13-20 shooting, and hit an absurd 8 of 9 shots from downtown. He didn’t get to the line much, but when he was this hot as a jump shooter, it didn’t really matter. George also excelled as a playmaker, dishing out six assists to no turnovers and consistently making smart reads with the ball in his hands. He was fantastic on defense as always, and that all-around play combined with his scorching efficiency made this an ideal George game. What a performance by PG on the same day that former Clipper Jared Dudley knocked Paul George in his new book and to the media. More performances like this and the haters won’t have much to talk about. I talked a lot about PG in this game recap, but words can’t really state how good he was in the Clippers’ win over the Cavs tonight.
Lou and Zu Flip Script in 2nd Half: Lou Williams and Ivica Zubac were both brutally bad in the first half (I’d estimate Lou as a D in Lucas’ player grades, and Zu as an F), and they were a big reason the Clippers collapsed in the second quarter. However, neither let it get to them, and they were key elements to the Clippers’ ultimate blowout margin of victory. Zu set a career high with 16 rebounds and played incredible defense while Lou scored 15 points on 5-8 shooting and played decent defense in his own right. With other bench players continuing o struggle, the Clippers needed production from their two stalwarts, and they got it.
Marcus Morris Continues to Struggle: Marcus Morris’ numbers have been solid enough this season (actually a bit better than his regular season stint with the Clippers last year) but he just hasn’t looked quite right. He was really quiet in this one (1-3 shooting with 3 rebounds and 2 turnovers in 23 minutes), and hasn’t made much of an impact outside of hitting threes. Hitting threes is great, of course, especially when you’re a bigger forward, but Morris has seemed a step slow on defense this year and hasn’t been able to get to the rim as much on his post-ups. He was injured to start the year and could still be working himself into shape, but it’s something to keep an eye on in the next couple of weeks.
That’s about it for this game recap of the Clippers’ 121 to 99 win over the Cavs. Check out Lucas’ grades and the new episode of TLTJTP coming later tonight, and join us on Friday for a marquee national TV matchup against the Celtics.
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