Thanks to a phenomenal shooting night from Paul George, the Clippers were able to beat the Lakers on opening night, spoiling their championship ring celebration with a 116-109 win in their return to Staples Center on Tuesday night.
George finished with a game-high 33 points on blistering 13-for-18 shooting from the field, including 5-for-8 from 3-point range. George’s 5 triples were the most in franchise history in a season opener. With a lot to prove this season, PG had a resounding opening night.
The Clippers also got 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists from Kawhi Leonard, who struggled offensively in the first half before finding his legs after the interval. No Clipper other than George (36) and Leonard (34) eclipsed the 30-minute mark as Ty Lue effectively ran a 9-man rotation for most of the game.
The Clippers were able to pull out the wire-to-wire victory thanks to lackluster performances from the Lakers’ own superstar duo. LeBron James finished with 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists on 7-for-17 shooting from the floor, while Anthony Davis chimed in with 18 points and 7 rebounds in a weirdly quiet night.
To hear 213Hoops’ The Lob, The Jam, The Podcast breakdown of the game, check out the link here.
Blazing Start for LAC
LAC got out to a hot start in this one, building a lead as big as 22 points before the end of the first quarter. The Lakers came out sluggish following their pregame ring ceremony, while the Clips played with a good bit of intensity on both ends of the floor.
The Clippers finished the first quarter shooting 70% from the field, while the Lakers were held to sub-40% shooting. Things took a turn in the second frame, however, as the Lakers were quickly able to whittle into LAC’s early advantage. The Clips’ marksmanship plummeted all the way down to 28% in the second period, and their lead had been trimmed to just 2 by halftime.
Leonard chose to pick his spots early, and he seemed more than happy to settle for jumpers instead of attacking the rim. He had a couple of nice moments bullying his way to the bucket against an extremely washed looking Wes Matthews in the second quarter, but he really picked things up after halftime.
George Took Over Late
The teams traded blows for most of the third quarter before George essentially took over the game. Once PG subbed back in for Kawhi with 2:27 to go in the frame, the Clippers took off. George closed the quarter by scoring 7 straight points to help extend the Clipper lead to 11 points entering the fourth.
He didn’t stop from there. George poured in another 8 points, including a 4-point play, before the halfway mark of the fourth. That 4-point play put the Clippers up 13, which was essentially when Frank Vogel decided to pull the plug.
Obviously, it was great to see George show out on opening night, especially considering how much garbage he’s taken since his underwhelming showing at Disney World. He was the best player on the floor in this game by some margin, and the Clippers are obviously going to need more where that came from if they want to ultimately get over the hump this season.
Early Takeaways
It was also interesting to see how some of Lue’s rotations worked in his first real game in charge. Ivica Zubac (27) wound up playing more minutes off the bench than Serge Ibaka (21) did in a starting role, and with good reason. They can probably play alongside one another at times this season if necessary, but splitting the center minutes certainly makes sense. baka had a solid offensive game shooting 5-for-7 overall and 2-for-3 from deep, but he struggled a bit defensively.
Zubac played solid defense against Davis at times in this one, and his size is going to prove troublesome for opposing second units as long as he’s playing in a backup role. Zu finished with 11 points and 6 rebounds, and his +17 mark tied George for a game-high.
Nicolas Batum (28) and Patrick Patterson (20) played the entirety of the power forward minutes here. Neither of them really brings much to the table, and neither of them will play nearly as much whenever Marcus Morris comes back into the fold. Reggie Jackson logged a total of 3 minutes in the first half, and those minutes were as dreadful as ever. Fortunately, Lue got the picture early and decided against bringing him back into the game after that.
Patrick Beverley led the way with 4 offensive rebounds, which is a very Patrick Beverley thing to do. Luke Kennard didn’t make much of an impact in the box score in his 21 minutes off the bench, but he had some nice moments slicing his way to the basket and making plays in the second half. Once the shooting comes around, it’s obvious what he’ll be able to bring offensively.
In case you were wondering, the Lakers got 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists out of Montrezl Harrell in his first #RevengeGame against the Clippers. Harrell’s energy was useful, but Zubac and the Clippers were able to exploit his defensive and rebounding shortcomings while he was out there, too.
All in all, this was a great way to start the season. Paul George needed that kind of a game to get the bad taste of the bubble out of his mouth, which should only help his confidence moving forward. The Clips will have a day off tomorrow and Thursday before closing out the 5-game Christmas Day schedule in Denver on Friday night.
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