The Clippers walked away with their third-straight victory after facing for the New York Knicks for the second and final time this season. This win for the Clippers comes after another two previous big wins against Eastern conference opponents, the Toronto Raptors and Memphis Grizzlies.
Along with an aggressive defense, the Clippers made it a record-breaking night in Los Angeles.
Paul George is now the 14th player in NBA history with 2,000 threes. PG finished today’s game with 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. He also went 10-21 from the field and 2-8 in three-pointers.
Along with George, Westbrook claimed the 9th spot on the NBA’s all-time assist list, passing Isaiah Thomas who had 9,061.
“The biggest thing I think for him is, like, just getting Kawhi and PG those easy shots,” said Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue on Westbrook. “And attacking the basket and giving us an offensive base which he’s done for us.”
Westbrook collected seven points, five rebounds and three assists on the night.
How it happened: The Clippers’ came out with an early lead in the first quarter at 14-4. Two three pointers from New York’s Immanuel Quickley and two made baskets from Quentin Grimes allowed the Knicks to end the first quarter trailing by one, 20-19. After 13 free throws were given and a final three-point foul was committed by the Clippers, the Knicks came back to finish the first half leading by two, 49-47.
Luckily, Kawhi Leonard came in to snuff out any sort of momentum from New York in the third quarter, dropping 19 points. Leonard and the rest of the Clippers kept that momentum going all the way throughout the fourth to finalize the game, 106-95.
What it means: Prior to the game both teams were fifth seeded in their respective conferences. After the game, the Clippers remained fifth in the Western Conference (36-33), just two games behind the Phoenix Suns (37-29).
Hits: Besides the broken records from PG and Westbrook, Kawhi put on another astounding performance. In 37 minutes Kawhi put up 38 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. He finished the night at 50% in threes (3-6) and 63% from the field (14-22). Meanwhile fellow starters Ivica Zubac and Marcus Morris Sr. both finished with eight and 11 points, respectively.
Misses: Not too many misses on the night other than falling behind to the Knicks in fast break points. In just the first half the Clippers were down 15-2 in fast break points. Both Brandon Boston Jr. and Norman Powell missed out on playing time. Boston sat out with a tailbone injury while Powell was out with a bad shoulder.
Stat of the game: The Clippers outperformed the Knicks in shooting. Los Angeles finished 48.3% (42-87) from the field while New York went 35.6% (32-90). The Clippers also went 33.3% (10-30) in three-pointer shooting compared to the Knicks’ 22.6% (7-31).
Up next: The Clippers will move on to face Golden State Warriors Wednesday at 7 p.m. with a chance to tie up the season series. In the last conference matchup between the two teams, the Warriors walked away with the 115-91 win. Now Golden State is 34-33 (7-26 away) and are coming off of a three-game skid as the seventh seed in the Western Conference.
