Clippers a "step behind" as loss to Kings drops them to 4th in West
The Clippers fell 123-107 on a night in which few things went right.
LOS ANGELES — Sometimes one word can sum up quite a lot.
When asked after Sunday night’s game what went wrong for his team as they fell to the Sacramento Kings by a 123-107 score line, LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue uttered one word: “Everything.”
And everything did indeed go wrong.
Before the game, the Clippers revealed that Paul George would be out with left knee soreness. Norman Powell replaced George in the starting lineup, a decision that Lue said in his pregame press conference was done to “see something different.”
While the entire starting lineup scored at least 14 points in the loss, they often looked discombobulated and unsure of where to be and what to do at various points.
“[We were] too slow [to] get into our stuff, get into our triggers,” Lue said following the loss.
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and four steals in 36 minutes, but was just 7-for-18 from the field and turned the ball over three times.
“I feel like we’re competing,” Leonard said postgame. “But we’re just like a step behind, so hopefully we get a rhythm. We got games coming up and I mean we got time to get better. It just starts now.”
The Clippers (37-19) shot 48.8% from the field while Sacramento connected on 49.5%. However, it was the drastic difference in 3-point output and offensive rebounds that turned the tide.
“Lost the possession game again tonight,” said Lue. “Turnovers and offensive rebounds, which we got to continue to get better with, and I thought defensively we didn’t do a good job of just protecting the paint first and then building out to the shooters like we talked about. So, just all-around we didn’t have a good game and they played well.”
Sacramento knocked down 15 triples compared to eight for the Clippers while also grabbing 14 offensive rebounds. The Kings (33-23) ended the night with nine extra field goal attempts and got to the line two more times.
“The help-side defense is the biggest thing,” guard Norman Powell said. “Teams like [Sacramento], you know, it’s not just one action; it’s the second and third action when we have breakdowns.”
De’Aaron Fox torched the Clippers on Sunday, finishing with a game-high 33 points to go with seven assists and six rebounds. Eleven of Fox’s 12 made shots came in the paint.
“I’ve never seen us keep [Fox] out the paint as long as I’ve been here,” said Lue. “He’s always in the paint. I mean, that’s what he does.”
Sacramento center Domantas Sabonis tallied his league-leading 20th triple-double of the season, netting 17 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists in 36 minutes.
“[The Clippers] kind of kicked our ass the last two games by 30,” Sabonis said after the win. “Coach [Mike Brown] just challenged us today to come out and be more aggressive. For us, we’re in that play-in situation right now and we definitely want to get out of there and solidify ourselves in a playoff seed.”
Sacramento forward Harrison Barnes scored 22 and Kevin Huerter added 15 to help the Kings.
Ivica Zubac made eight of his nine field goal attempts en route to 16 points and six rebounds while James Harden put up 20 points, eight assists, and five boards but did so on 4-for-13 shooting. Terance Mann scored 14 points and Norman Powell added 21.
The Clippers’ bench combined for 16 points on 7-for-18 shooting.
Sunday night marked the sixth game out of the last seven that the Clippers trailed by at least 10 points.
The Clippers are closing in on treacherous territory as far as NBA championship contenders go. The usual hallmark of a title contender is to reach the 40-win plateau before hitting 20 losses. For the Clippers, they need to win their next three games to do that. There’s no more margin for error.
But up next will be the cross-hall rival Los Angeles Lakers in what will be the last-ever regular-season meeting between the two teams inside Crypto.com Arena. The Clippers beat the Lakers 127-116 in their last outing back on Jan. 23. However, the Lakers won the first two matchups.
Following that is a game at home against a dreadful Washington Wizards squad that presently sits at 9-48, the second-worst record in the league. The third game in this stretch will be an afternoon affair against the West-leading Minnesota Timberwolves, a team that’s bested the Clippers twice already.
In Kawhi Leonard’s words, the Clippers are a step behind. That doesn’t mean hope is lost. They just need to get back on the same page. And soon.
“Winning games [can build momentum],” Leonard said. “Coming in and doing the things that we need to do, getting back in transition, matching up, staying focused, executing on the offensive end. Yeah, I mean, we all know how to win basketball games, so we just got to go out there and do it.”