STOCKTON, Calif. – On the second game of their back-to-back, the San Diego Clippers (12-14) and the Stockton Kings (18-8) went at it again in Adventist Health Arena, this time with the Clips’ pulling out the victory 126-113.
As mentioned previously, the Kings are a top seeded team in the Western Conference, and for San Diego that meant two things; First, they can go head-to-head with any given team on any day, and secondly it meant their playoff hopes are still alive. As the current 11 seed, they have some work to do to get back into the playoff race, but it is still in reach.
This win was a team effort, with seven players in double-figures, which seems to be the magic number for Clipper head coach Paul Hewitt’s squad. Trentyn Flowers led San Diego with 23 points and 11 rebounds, good for a double-double.
In the first quarter, it was yet again another haymaker thrown by the Clippers, which is needed to keep up with Stockton’s high scoring output. San Diego outscored them 31-27 in the first twelve minutes, thanks to Cam Christie’s shooting. That trend repeated itself in the second frame, where San Diego held an 8 point halftime lead, 62-54. It felt like the team had made the right adjustments and were feeling good with how they came out.
Other San Diego players really stepped up in this game as well. Yauhen Massalski, who had been an end of bench player for most of this season, came through with 14 points, and a career-high 14 rebounds. Other players that contributed were Patrick Baldwin Jr. with a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds, then Christie, Izaiah Brockington, and DJ Carton each with 16 points.
The second half was much similar to the first, with Stockton really trying to make a comeback, and taking the lead, but the Clippers were determined to keep control. Both the third and fourth quarter San Diego won, but Stockton came close, cutting it to just a five point game halfway through the final frame. San Diego was able to retake the pace, and blow it up to the double-digit win they walked away with.
Terry Taylor led the Kings, and all scorers, with 33 points.
The Clippers will remain on the road for one more game, this time going to play the Sioux Falls Skyforce at the Sanford Pentagon. The game will be on March 11 and tip-off is at 4:30 p.m.
