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LA Clippers blown out by Pacers 91-70 in first back-to-back loss

By Leonard Saldana

Nov 27, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) drives to the basket against Indiana Pacers guard Jeff Teague (44) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 27, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) drives to the basket against Indiana Pacers guard Jeff Teague (44) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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The LA Clippers fell behind early to the Indiana Pacers with countless turnovers and never recovered, suffering their first back-to-back loss in the process.

Blake Griffin shot 6-of-15 for 16 points, which led all LA Clippers (14-4) scorers in a 91-70 beatdown from the Indiana Pacers (9-9), which looks even worse when you know that Paul George didn’t play. L.A. shot a measly 31.4 percent from the field and shot an even worse 16.7 percent from deep, going 4-of-24. Their 20 turnovers were always a recipe for trouble. The Clippers’ total of 70 points for the game was the lowest scoring output in a contest since Doc Rivers arrived as head coach in 2013. It was that bad.

L.A. won the tip and Chris Paul‘s pass was stolen by Jeff Teague to start the game. That should have been a good indicator of how the game would play out. The Clippers had 11 turnovers for the quarter. Once they shook off the turnovers they were still unable to stop the Pacers from impeding their will.

The Pacers had 22 more shots than the Clippers on Sunday, leading in just about every category for the game. Indiana led in assists 26 to 11, and out-rebounded the Clippers by 12. Which is really indicative of the Clippers’ struggling ball movement, sloppy passing, and faltering effort.

Glenn Robinson III and Myles Turner each scored 17 points, while Turner pulled down 12 rebounds. Jeff Teague added eight points and 10 assists.

The Clippers had their last lead in the first quarter 20-18. The rest of the way everything was tough for them. They couldn’t buy a shot from the field and the only bright side was their ability to get to the line 27 times to the Pacers’ seven attempts.

Chris Paul had a tough shooting night going 3-13 and even worse from deep 0-6. DeAndre Jordan grabbed 14 rebounds with eight points. J.J. Redick had only 5 points, going 1-of-7 from the field.

The Clippers’ defense looked like they were over helping each other, Jordan had his hand full with the Pacers bigs, and would switch before he needed to. L.A. had open shots that would normally go in, but for the second game in a row shots were not falling. Doc Rivers pulled out his starters with about four minutes left in the game, conceding the victory to Indiana.

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Spark coming from the wrong bench

The Indiana Pacers got a spark from Al Jefferson and Rodney Stuckey. Jefferson chipped in with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Stuckey had 12 points and made it difficult on Paul because of his length. Aaron Brooks had six points but had four rebounds and even a block on the night.

L.A.’s bench played poorly again for the second straight game, shooting 9-34, and without Jamal Crawford the bench would have only made four shots for the night. For the past two games the bench has shot 30 percent.

Notes

Superstar Paul George, C.J. Miles, and Kevin Seraphin missed the game for various ailments and injuries. A defensive three seconds technical was called on Indiana, the only technical of the game.

Next: Which Clippers players are the best value?

Up next

The LA Clippers play the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday in a rematch from earlier in the season, where the Clippers crushed the nets 127-95. Brooklyn’s lost their last three games, more recently lost to the Sacramento Kings by 17 points on Sunday. Look for Brook Lopez to play against L.A. this time after sitting out for rest the previous match up.

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