The Clippers Defense Has Finally Woken Up
In the second game, we had to rely on our role players, who did all they could but couldn’t make up for the offense without Kawhi or Darius Garland, not to mention Benn Mathurin, who has missed multiple games.
The good news in this game came from John Collins, who shone with 18 points and 8 rebounds, and Bogdan Bogdanovic, who had his best game of the season with 16 off the bench.
The Pelicans and Clippers played each other twice in a row last week — a back-to-back home series in New Orleans — and the Pelicans swept both games. In game one, New Orleans shot the lights out, and even with Kawhi Leonard and Darius Garland, we could not overcome the absolute assault in the paint. It didn’t help that our defense seemed to have forgotten to board the plane. LA blew a double-digit lead and couldn’t pull it together once they caught up.
Dallas was a wild, high-scoring, competitive affair with stunning offense on both sides, but Darius Garland was the clear standout. He became the first Clipper with a stat line of over 40 points and 11 assists. He and Kawhi looked smooth and elite on the floor together, and even when their minutes were staggered towards the end due to minutes restrictions on both, their impact was tremendous.
Kawhi finished with 34 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals, or as Clips fans call it, a day at the office.
If there were an award for role player of the game, I’d give it to Derrick Jones Jr., whose 15 points are just a small part of the story. He scrapped for loose balls in the 4th quarter and practically hit the stadium ceiling for what seemed like an impossible put-back dunk that gave the Clippers huge energy.
Thankfully, the Clippers remembered their identity in the 2nd half. They got physical and led with their defense. They came out putting pressure on the ball, turning over Dallas while still being ferocious on offense. Dallas fought to the end and took it to overtime with their physicality, athleticism, and a hot night from Klay Thompson. Naji Marshall scored 28 points, mostly in the paint.
In OT, it looked like more of the same with Naji hitting a floater and Cooper Flag scoring a pull-up jumper plus the foul. But Garland was not to be stopped. He ran a masterful offense with Kawhi hitting jumpers whenever needed and Derrick Jones Jr. sealing the deal with two huge threes.
In the end it was the Clippers defense that won them the game.
Fans would like to send a sincere invitation for the Clippers’ defense to show up in full force on Monday against the Milwaukee Bucks.
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