The LA Clippers’ losing woes continued last night, as they’ve lost 8 out of their last 9 games. Los Angeles lost a heart breaker against a 76ers team that they should have beaten. The biggest bright side for the Clippers was Lou Williams, who posted a stat line of: 31 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals, on 47.4% shooting. Blake Griffin posted an impressive line of: 29 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. However, Blake’s poor shooting percentage continued as he shot 10/25 (40%) from the field. Despite the line, his shot selection & decision making at the end of the game will be what fans remember.
Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid looked like absolute superstars tonight. Simmons had 22 points and 12 rebounds, at a fantastic rate of 64% shooting. Embiid terrorized Deandre Jordan, and dominated him on both ends of the floor. Embiid held Deandre Jordan to only to 2 points & 5 rebounds, while also fouling him out. On the offensive end, Embiid posted a Shaq-like box score of: 32 points, 16 rebounds, on 11/20 (55%) shooting.
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😳😳😳 😳😳😳 https://t.co/QwjDSiV3X7— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) November 14, 2017
The game was tightly contested for most of the night, but there were two spots that led to the Clippers’ defeat: 1st quarter struggles, and poor execution down the stretch.
1st Quarter Struggles
Poor defense spelled an early doom for Los Angeles, as they allowed the 76ers to score 36 points in the first quarter. From that moment on, the Clippers were playing catch up for most of the game. Los Angeles desperately needed a cushion to win this game. Instead, the 1st quarter was basically a highlight reel for the 76ers:
Starting to worry about the ball. pic.twitter.com/zsEwQD3zAz
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) November 14, 2017
Poor Execution in Crunch Time
The Clippers were actually in the lead 100-95 with 2:11 left in the game. They got all the necessary stops they wanted, and finally put themselves in a good position to close out a game. Unfortunately the Clippers shot 3 ill-advised missed shots in a row after that point; each shot was poorer than the next one.
And we're tied! pic.twitter.com/KDf5IftPEl
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) November 14, 2017
Within minutes, Philadelphia took the lead 105-101 with 22.6 left. Los Angeles broke down offensively & defensively, as they allowed Robert Covington to score 7 points in the final 33 seconds. There was no reason for the Clippers to lose this game, other than incredibly awful decision making in crunch time.
The Final Clip: This was the best game the Clippers have played during their losing streak, specifically the 2nd quarter. Last night was their game to win, and they simply couldn’t close out.
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