The LA Clippers needed to get back in the win column last night, and that’s exactly what they did. Los Angeles led wire-to-wire against Sacramento, leading by as many as 27. The Clippers’ bench came to life, outscoring Sacramento’s bench 72-43.
LA was led by the energetic play of Montrezl Harrell, who posted: 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. Harrell spoke about the bench’s production post game last night:
“They call [the team] coming off the bench ‘The Goon Squad’ and I’m the leader of it. When we get on the floor it’s all about us and we’re not worried about anything the other team is doing. We stick to our principles and carry them out.”
https://twitter.com/Farbod_E/status/945901658793373696
Willie Cauley-Stein led the way for Sacramento, putting up: 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists. Sacramento struggled to score in the second half of the game, shooting only 38% from the field.
The Clippers did a lot of things right this game, but there were two specific categories that really carried them.
Rebounding
The Clippers crushed the Kings in the rebounding department, 49 to 36. LA did exactly what they needed to do, and halted any potential momentum that Sacramento could gain; LA beat Sacramento in second chance points 23-8.
A beast in the paint, @DeAndre gets the put-back! 💪 #NBAVote
📸 https://t.co/1dhZFTd4F9
📲 https://t.co/hr4l2F0s3c
📺 #PrimeTicket pic.twitter.com/5xsJPqgr6D— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) December 27, 2017
The Kings are a bottom 4 rebounding team, and the Clippers didn’t allow them to play above their average.
Moving the Ball
The Clippers moved the ball at a fantastic pace last night, notching 31 assists. The great ball movement resulted in some great offense for LA. The offense halted any transitional offense for the Kings, which resulted in good defense for the Clippers. Astoundingly, the short-handed Clippers ended the first half on a 37-14 run to lead 71-53 at halftime. The 71 points in the first half was their first half season high. Five different Clipper players also put up 3+ assists.
This play though! 👀
📸 https://t.co/1dhZFTd4F9
📺 #PrimeTicket pic.twitter.com/d5KQ1Y2YR1— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) December 27, 2017
Everyone on the team was truly clicking, and it looks like they’re finally finding each other’s comfortable spots.
The Final Clip: This was a fantastic game from top to bottom for the LA Clippers. The win was much needed, because they definitely needed to recover from their upsetting loss against Memphis. The Clippers hope to extend their win streak to 2, as they face the hometown Lakers on Friday.
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