It was an insane night for the Los Angeles Clippers. Mason Plumlee and Brandon Podziemski got under each other’s skin. Ty Lue had to be ejected after getting into the ear of a coach and James Harden had to calm him down. Although, there was one missing person during this battle against the Golden State Warriors. Kawhi Leonard opted to rest during their final game before the NBA All-Star break because of an injury.
Ty Lue knows that Kawhi Leonard’s left adductor sprain did not bother the Clippers star that much. However, he did note that Leonard could prolong his rest and recovery which also means that he might miss NBA All-Star weekend, via Kendra Andrews of ESPN.
“I don’t think it’s that serious. He played through it last game, was experiencing some soreness in the hip, so when the game got out of reach we didn’t bring him back in the fourth quarter to be smart about it,” the Clippers head honcho said.
Leonard still managed to play in their last game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Clippers two-way star still grabbed four rebounds and an assist to end the game. Although, he did look to be struggling on offense. His shooting efficiency did not look to well as he only knocked down eight out of his 17 field goal attempts. In 30 minutes of ation, he only managed to score 18 points because of the injury.
The Clippers made a wise decision to give their star rest as they faced the Warriors.
Cardiac Clippers batter down the Warriors
When Coach Lue was ejected, it looked like the window of winning closed for the Clippers. The Warriors were talking trash while Stephen Curry started to heat up in the clutch. However, the team still managed to pull off the unlikely win. A huge reason for this was their 44-point explosion in the fourth quarter which no one the Warriors could stop.
James Harden led the scoring barrage with 26 points and also dropped seven dimes. Paul George scored 24 points for the Clippers with Norman Powell also finishing the game with 21 points of his own. Overall, everything was working out for the Clippers’ late-game offense. If all things work out after the NBA All-Star break, they have the opportunity to grab the first seed in the Western Conference.
Source link