#EatTheTweet: Clippers thump Nets, win 15th out of last 18

It's chow time!

Jan 26, 2026

Fan holds sign of Robert Flom’s tweet, which he now has to eat as Clippers have won 15 of their last 18. *(Photo credit: Justin Russo, Russo Writes)*

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- There’s been a lot of rallying cries in sports. But perhaps none will be as humorous as what permeated throughout “The Wall” inside Intuit Dome on Sunday night.

While the LA Clippers (21-24) were easily dispatching the Brooklyn Nets (12-32), which ended as a 126-89 thumping, midway through the fourth quarter a chant broke out as a few cardboard signs made their way into the esteemed fan section near Brooklyn’s bench.

Eat. The. Tweet.

You’d be forgiven for not being chronically online and unsure what was happening.

On Dec. 20, a mere hour before the Clippers and Lakers tipped off, as the Clippers languished with a 6-21 record, Robert Flom, who has tirelessly covered the Clippers for years and is presently the managing editor for 213 Hoops, tweeted the following: “If they go 15-3 in any stretch this season [I] will print and eat this tweet.”

Well, Rob, my good friend, get ready to put your tweet where your mouth is since Sunday’s win marked the team’s 15th win in their last 18 games.

“We gotta get him on camera then,” Tyronn Lue joked after being informed of the situation. “Where’s he at? We gotta get him on camera. Tell him to call in.”

The cardboard signs showcasing Flom’s tweet for the world to see were hoisted in the air during the game’s final minutes, serving as a cult-like call to arms that, even when things look their bleakest, fun can be right around the corner.

This is what sports are all about. We often forget that along the way.

They’re supposed to be fun. They’re supposed to bring people together for a common good -- rallying and rooting and hooting and hollering.

And also eating paper.

“That’s funny,” forward Kawhi Leonard remarked postgame when told of the paper ingestion that will now be part of Flom’s Monday meal plan.

Leonard can feel partially responsible for making this a reality thanks to his stellar play as of late, which included 28 points on Sunday.

“He better try to see if he can eat something else,” Leonard said. “I don’t know how healthy that is for you.”

The game was over nearly as quickly as it began.

The Nets, who were fresh off a double-overtime game on Friday and then had to travel from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, were overwhelmed in the first quarter as the Clippers raced out to a 38-14 lead at the end of the opening frame. It only grew from there, with the Clippers leading by as much as 38 in the first half and 40 in the second.

It’s what made the night even funnier.

There was zero tension. It became a party-like atmosphere for the most part, with fans laughing and smiling and enjoying themselves, almost taking perverse joy in the paper-eating fate of another human being.

“I just wanna see the video of it,” center Ivica Zubac said postgame. Zubac ended Sunday’s game with 11 points and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes.

“Someone send me a link. I hope it happens,” Zubac quipped.

When informed that the tweet will indeed be eaten on Monday, which is what Flom informed the enthralled masses after the game, Zubac quickly replied, “Nice. I need someone to send me a link.”

If you think players don’t know what happens on social media, especially in 2026, you’d be mistaken. Perhaps some aren’t as online as others, but they know. Their group chats are littered with things you’d be surprised they see.

Rookie Kobe Sanders called the game “Paper Bowl” while he was getting ready to meet with media following the win.

So, yeah, they knew. Of course they did.

“I don’t got no message for him specifically,” Sanders said with a sheepish grin plastered firmly across his face. “But I’d just like to say we got the dub.”

John Collins finished with 18 points, five rebounds, and three steals in Sunday’s win, but his biggest contribution might have been his advice for Flom’s digestive tract.

“Make sure you get a lot of fiber in, brother,” Collins said while rubbing his stomach. “That’s all I got for brother. … Make sure you get your banana in or whatever you can, brother.”

It was a rare case of actual joy and humor being shared by everyone. It felt like, at least for a moment, adults became kids again.

The Clippers used a 40-7 run, turning a 12-10 contest into a 52-17 whooping in roughly 12 minutes. They led the final 40 minutes by double digits and the final 37 minutes by at least 20 points.

In all, it was the Clippers’ second-largest margin of victory on the season, trailing only the 41-point win over the Sacramento Kings to close out 2025. It makes the Clippers the fifth team this season with multiple wins by at least 35 points.

With the win, the Clippers are 21-24, and their next three games give them decent opportunities at more success.

Tuesday’s meeting with the Utah Jazz starts a three-game road trip, and the Jazz are just 15-31. On Friday, the Clippers will be in Denver to play the 31-15 Nuggets, who could be missing both Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon. To close out the trip, the Clippers will face the 27-19 Phoenix Suns next Sunday. But Phoenix will likely be without the services of both Devin Booker and Jalen Green.

In other words, there exists a possibility, however wild to consider, that the Clippers, after starting 6-21, could reach .500 before the All-Star break.

No team in NBA history that has ever started 6-21 or worse through the first 27 games of a season has found their way back to .500 at any point during that same season. The most wins any of those teams finished with was 36.

The Clippers, if you can believe it, appear on the precipice of history. The fact that they’ve gotten here this fast is absurd to think about.

But maybe that’s the next thing Flom could make a proclamation tweet about.

“If they reach .500 at any point this season, I will print and eat this tweet.”

It’d be fun.

And ain’t that what this is all about?