Leonard, George propel Clippers to much-needed win in Harden's return to Philly
L.A. overcame a 15-point deficit to notch their 45th win of the season.
For the better part of three quarters on Wednesday night, the LA Clippers appeared poised to endure a now-all-too-familiar feeling in recent weeks: a heartbreaking defeat.
It wasn’t for lack of effort or identity — apologies to Clippers coach Tyronn Lue for saying the two words he despises. They were simply just missing shots, particularly their star players Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. But the fight was there. No one could argue otherwise.
That’s what made the seemingly impending defeat so tough to observe: the Clippers were finally doing the right things; playing the right way.
But the loss never came. Leonard and George arrived in time.
The pair scored 21 points in the fourth after combining for only 18 through the first three quarters as Leonard’s key block down the stretch and George’s late defensive stand helped the Clippers knock off the Philadelphia 76ers, 108-107.
“We just got guys that aren’t afraid of the moment,” George told reporters in Philadelphia after the game. “Whatever the score is, or whatever position we’re in, at that point it’s just find a way. It’s just a good win, a good road win. Especially when we’ve been dropping a couple. These wins [can] definitely have a lasting effect and can be a momentum [changer].”
George played the entire fourth quarter, scoring 11 of his 22 in the frame. The smooth forward nailed five 3s on the night. Leonard scored 10 of his 17 in the fourth, including a late flurry that saw the star forward notch two And-1’s to give the Clippers (45-27) multiple leads inside the final minute.
“I’m gonna play a lot more basketball games,” Leonard said after the win. “It's going to go my way [a] majority of the time, but sometimes it doesn’t fall for you.”
When the going got tough, the two stars showed up. And in doing so, it gave a brief glimpse into why some still can’t quit this team. Because the top level is that good.
“PG and Kawhi, to be 2-for-15 at halftime from the field, being down the floor and still fighting, still staying with it,” Lue told reporters in the postgame presser. “PG got it going and Kawhi got it going late, but just staying with it, being resilient.”
Lue continued: “You can live with yourself if you’re losing games like that, where you don’t shoot the ball well, but you play hard, you compete, and you scrap. That’s what we have to do every single night.”
The Clippers rallied from a 15-point first-half deficit that featured more shoddy offense. The defense wasn’t poor, oftentimes competing well against a Philadelphia team that was still missing reigning MVP Joel Embiid.
James Harden scored 16 points and dished out 14 assists in his first game back in Philadelphia since the October trade that sent him to Los Angeles.
Harden said postgame that he “didn’t know why [the fans] were booing.” When later asked if there’s a pathway to him and Philadelphia president of basketball operations Daryl Morey mending fences, Harden was dismissive: “No. No. Hell no.”
It was a big turnaround for the Clippers, not just on the scoreboard but mentally.
Sometimes you have to get lucky not just in life but also in something as trivial as basketball. The Clippers found that luck late when Leonard blocked a Kelly Oubre Jr. shot at the rim to force a jump ball with five seconds left. They found more of it when George evaded a foul call as he contested Oubre’s shot at the final buzzer, which the referees later said should have been called.
But whether by hook or by crook, the Clippers needed this win. They need something to go their way. So much had gone against them over the last six weeks, but perhaps Wednesday is a brief glimpse into how they turn things around: through tough defense, never giving in, and sometimes just getting the breaks.
It ultimately harkens back to what Lue said a few nights ago when he questioned the Clippers’ toughness to gathered media after the loss to Indiana. The players answered that bell and passed with flying colors in Philadelphia. Especially the two stars, who chose to lead when things weren’t going swimmingly.
Seven Clippers scored in double-figures — George (22), Leonard (17), Harden (16), Terance Mann (14), Ivica Zubac (11), Norman Powell (11), and Amir Coffey (10). It took all hands on deck; exactly the type of win that can turn things around.
The Clippers shot 44.4% on the night while Philadelphia connected on 47.6% of their attempts. The team racked up 28 assists on 40 made shots and only turned the ball over eight times as they also outrebounded the 76ers on the offensive glass, 11 to 10. Philadelphia did notch 19 second-chance points, though.
Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia (39-34) with 26 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. and Buddy Hield each had 17 points. Hield scored 15 of his 17 in the second half.
There are 10 games left for the Clippers in this regular season, and a win like the one they achieved on Wednesday night, with Harden’s return to an old stomping ground hanging over their heads and the two stars struggling mightily in the first three quarters, could be the mental boost they need as they prepare to play the Orlando Magic (42-30) on Friday. The Magic are one win shy of their most wins in a season since 2010-11.
Wednesday’s win over Philadelphia drew some parallels to the team’s loss in Denver back in November as the squad attempted to end a five-game losing streak. While it ultimately ended in defeat that night long ago, there were still some positives to draw out of the rubble: namely their fight and grit.
It was more of the same on Wednesday as the Clippers attempted to end another losing spell and run of poor play. But the joy of victory is so much sweeter than the sourness of defeat. In November, the Clippers turned things around with a win against the Houston Rockets thanks in large part to Harden’s dazzling heroics at the end of the night. While it wasn’t Harden on Wednesday, the play of Leonard and George down the stretch harkened back to the win that ultimately propelled the Clippers to a 31-8 stretch.
The little things matter for the Clippers. They can’t skip steps. It’s a necessity that they dig in and work hard on every possession to continue the process of excavating themselves from this rut they’re presently mired in.
Wednesday night, even with some luck sprinkled in, could be a turning point. For only the second time since the All-Star break, the Clippers — what they think are the real Clippers — showed up. It’s on them to keep it going.
“That was a tough gritty win for us,” Lue said. “That’s what we needed.”