'Good professional win' says Lue of Clippers' demolition of the Hornets

Norman Powell returned to action after missing the last seven games.

(Photo credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images)

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Winning the games you should is always easier said than done, but on Sunday night at Intuit Dome, the LA Clippers proved it can be just as easy to put it into action.

“Coming off a road trip, first game back, four o’clock game, and this (Charlotte) team has been playing well. This is really a good professional win,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said after his team routed the lowly Charlotte Hornets 123-88 to notch their third straight win. “They had their whole lineup out there. They’ve been playing good basketball and, like I said, just coming off the road trip like we did, could have made every excuse in the world, but I give our guys credit. They came out with a professional mentality.”

James Harden led the Clippers with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists in 32 minutes while Ivica Zubac posted a career-high eight assists to go with 17 points and 14 rebounds.

“I’ve been seeing a lot of doubles lately. I don’t remember the last time a team didn’t double me in the post,” Zubac said in the locker room postgame after his career-best passing night. “It’s all about being patient and making the right pass. It doesn’t have to be an assist every time. It’s all about finding an open man and they might rotate to that guy, they might swing to someone else who’s open, but it’s all about when you see a double, when they put two on you, someone is open. I’m just trying to make the right play every time.”

Over the last 25 games, Zubac has averaged 18.2 points and 12.1 rebounds on 63.3% shooting.