Los Angeles Clippers lost their second straight game, 145-108, as they were unable to stop the Boston Celtics from going downtown.
In brief
The Clippers have not historically benefited from early afternoon starts. The last time they started at 12:30 PM this season was on December 2 against the Golden State Warriors, when they fell behind by more than 20 points before pulling off an incredible comeback in the second half. That was before Saturday.
When the Clippers faced the visiting Celtics, they were unable to stick to a similar plan. They trailed 69-53 at the half, having taken care of the huge get down phase. However, the Celtics’ second half consisted solely of a constant onslaught of three-pointers.
The Clippers entered the game with a focus on the Celtics’ offensive line.
Following the game, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue remarked, “They shoot a lot of threes, they lead the league in three-point attempts and all their guys can shoot.” “We talked about that before the game started; when you believe they’re going to shoot, they will shoot…In terms of getting to the basket, I believe they are second to last in the league. We simply did not perform well enough, either offensively or defensively, even though we knew they would attempt threes.
The Celtics’ three-point percentage overall was 47.2%, going 25-53. The Clippers were unable to halt the relentless three-point shooting. Their inability to rebound, recover defensively in transition, and maintain a steady offensive output did not help.
Before tip-off, the Clippers were dealt a double dose of terrible news. The Celtics were going to be shorthanded since Jayson Tatum had returned to the starting lineup following a one-game absence, and Kawhi Leonard was expected to miss his second straight game with a hip ailment.
Tatum carved up the Clippers to the tune of 30 points on 9-16 shooting, including 5-10 from three-point range and one thunderous poster dunk over Daniel Theis.
After the game though, Lue made it clear that the team cannot let these last two losses make them forget about the cohesiveness and chemistry they were able to build during the winning streak. The Clippers will have a chance to snap this mini-losing streak as the Charlotte Hornets come to town on Dec. 26.
Remarks
-Kawhi Leonard missed his second consecutive game with a hip injury and is considered day-to-day. While Clippers fans may be thinking ‘here we go again’ in the back of their minds, this particular ailment doesn’t appear to be serious. In any case, Leonard is extremely important to the Clippers and their margin for error without him is thin.
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