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Who wants ethical victories? Even lacking their head coach and greater than half their roster, the Clippers got here to play for the true factor Saturday, upsetting the Brooklyn Nets, 120-116.
This patchwork model of the Clippers went to battle with Goliath in Gotham on New 12 months’s Day and spurred by Eric Bledsoe’s season-high 27 factors and secured by Brooklyn-born Terance Mann’s massive go-ahead bucket with 23.5 seconds left, shocked Kevin Durant and James Harden’s Nets.
The skilled basketball gamers sporting Clippers white – three of them new to the group, coming aboard prior to now few days on 10-day hardship offers – competed stubbornly all recreation and rode a 40-point fourth quarter to the victory.
The Nets’ loss earlier than 17,732 followers at Barclays Heart bumped them into second place at 23-11 within the Japanese Convention. The Clippers’ second and most inconceivable victory on a troublesome three-game East Coast highway journey has them hovering above .500 at 19-18.
Regardless of Hardens’ 34-point, 12-rebound, 13-assist triple-double and Durant’s 28 factors and 9 rebounds, the Clippers by no means trailed by greater than 13 factors; their largest deficit coming with 5:57 to play, when Brooklyn went up 105-92.
Even then, the Clippers obstinately, proudly ignored the memo and simply saved coming.
By no means thoughts that they bought information simply earlier than heading to Saturday’s recreation that Luke Kennard was getting into COVID-19 well being and security protocols, bringing the present whole of Clippers with that designation to 4 – 5 together with Coach Tyronn Lue.
Furthermore, 5 different Clippers stay out with accidents and Marcus Morris Sr. was energetic however didn’t play. They selected to be cautious with the veteran ahead who has been an computerized 20-plus-point-scorer of late but additionally has logged heavy minutes within the three video games since he cleared protocols, together with enjoying 38 within the Clippers’ 116-108 loss in Toronto on Friday night time.
To make the chances steeper, they have been enjoying their second recreation in as many nights and their fifth in seven days.
And so they have been up in opposition to a Nets group that wasn’t solely very almost totally staffed – they have been lacking solely two gamers for the sport – however well-rested. Brooklyn was enjoying simply its fourth recreation in 14 days after three of its video games between Dec. 19-23 have been postponed on account of COVID-19.
“It simply goes to indicate on this league, something can occur on any given night time,” stated Brian Shaw, the Clippers’ performing coach. “You win some that you’re possibly not speculated to win and then you definitely lose some that you’re possibly not speculated to lose.
“Though we felt dangerous about final night time as a result of we have been answerable for that recreation for a very good a part of it, we didn’t make the performs down the stretch that it took to win final night time’s recreation. However tonight was absolutely the reverse of that.”
In seven fourth-quarter minutes, Bledsoe scored 10 factors, and had two takeaways and two assists.
His steal and bucket closed the hole 107-100 and his two free throws shortly thereafter drew the Clippers inside 107-105. He muscled in for a layup that reduce the lead once more to three with 5:01 to go.
After which Amir Coffey (14 factors) drained his third 3-pointer to tie it 110-110.
Durant swished a midrange jumper, however Justise Winslow (who scored six of his 11 factors within the fourth quarter, when he additionally had 4 boards) attacked and drew a foul and hit each of his free throws to even the rating once more.
After Harden drew a foul on Winslow – Shaw challenged the decision unsuccessfully – and made one in every of his two free throws, Winslow’s floater put the Clippers forward 114-113 with 1:03 to play.
Then Mann – taking pictures from the nook of a court docket located lower than a mile from Brooklyn Hospital, the place he was born – knocked down a 3-pointer that put the Clippers forward 117-113 and triggered an eruption on the Clippers’ bench with 23.5 seconds left.
Mann completed with 19 factors on this homecoming, a profitable bookend for a visit that began with a victory at TD Backyard in Boston, close to the place he grew up.
Bledsoe responded to a pair of Harden free throws by making two of his personal and when Winslow whacked Durant to ship him to the road earlier than he might stand up a 3-pointer, he missed one in every of his two foul pictures, giving again the ball to the Clippers with a 118-116 lead.
In his second recreation again after lacking 4 video games in protocols, Reggie Jackson (19 factors) buried each free throws to ice it.
“It’s basketball,” Bledsoe stated. “We like to play this recreation, we like to go on the market and compete. Particularly guys that’s getting a possibility to show that they belong on this league like Wenyen, James, Justise, Xavier. They did an excellent job of coming in and combating and conserving the lead sustainable.”
Wenyen Gabriel, who donned No. 35, scored seven factors in 14 minutes in his Clipper debut. James Ennis III – sporting No. 10 to match his scoring output — logged 16 minutes in his Clipper debut, which got here in opposition to the group for which each he and Gabriel have been short-term staff every week in the past. And Xavier Moon, the 6-foot-2 guard in No. 15, performed 18 minutes and had eight factors.
“That they had by no means performed with Ennis earlier than, by no means performed with Gabriel earlier than. As we stated, Moon has solely performed in a few video games for us,” stated Shaw, whose message to his group Saturday subsequently was easy: “Compete, play exhausting and have enjoyable.”
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