It was a tough, long four quarters, but the LA Clippers ended up on top against the visiting 76ers. Here is our analysis of what transpired yesterday.
In their previous match up, the Clippers lost to the 76ers. It was Blake Griffin’s return game from his injury, and Joel Embiid was recently announced as “out for the remainder” of the season with a torn meniscus. Fans and Clipper employees alike were disappointed in the loss, but the team learned what they had to do differently, and showed up yesterday looking much more prepared.
Before the game started, Clips commentator Michael Smith opened with the statement “Whenever this 76ers team plays as hard as they are capable of, they can beat anyone.” (paraphrased). Smith’s words preceded the game perfectly, as Philadelphia came out swinging to expose the Clippers’ lack of defense in the first quarter. When the first quarter was finished, the Clippers led by just two points (32-30).
The second quarter was a similar story to the first, with spotty defense being played by both teams allowing for a fair amount of open layups and other “under the basket” buckets. The “Embiid-less” 76ers had no answer for DeAndre Jordan, as he was able to snag 20 rebounds, score 19 points easily on 6/7 shooting (dunks), drop 4 dimes, and deny 3 shots against their disappointing center Jahlil Okafor. The ex-76er and current Dallas Maverick, Nerlens Noel, would have probably been a better match for DeAndre; Okafor has seemed uncomfortable and unmotivated since starting in place of Embiid.
Blake Griffin was able to rack up 15 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals despite catching a WWE forearm smash to the face from Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot sending him to the hardwood during a drive to the basket. Timothe recieved a flagrant-one foul for his sins. It seemed as if the 76ers game plan included roughing up Griffin. He found himself on the floor a number of times during this game, and his “player-to-guard”, Dario Saric, took 17 shots on him.
The Clippers finally went on a decent run in the fourth quarter and outscored the 76ers 37-21. The final score was 112-100. The player of the game in this victory was Chris Paul, with his best game since his return. He scored 30 points on 11/16 shooting and was 4/4 from three-point range. He also had 7 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals in his 34 minutes.
This one was close throughout with 12 ties and 21 lead changes. Good game Philly, and as always, go Clippers!
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