LA Clippers get struck by Thunder, lose 127-117

The LA Clippers fell short on Thursday night and lost 127-117 to the star studded OKC Thunder.

The Clippers’ best efforts proved not be enough against the Oklahoma City Thunder. LA lost 127-117, barring them even further from playoff hopes. The Clippers are now two games back from New Orleans in the race for the 8th seed, and are 17-20 for the season.

Although the game gave the Clippers another tally in the L column, there are still plenty of reasons to be pleased with the game. Here are some wins and losses from Thursday’s battle.

Win: DeAndre Jordan’s activity

In his battle against Steven Adams, DeAndre Jordan proved triumphant and posted 26 points and 17 rebounds. (Adams had 12 points and nine rebounds.) DJ was extremely active on the boards, continuing his hot streak of elite rebounding that began in December.

DeAndre also went 6/7 from the free throw line, making Thursday one of his best nights from the free throw line in his career. In fact, while he was 6/6, that was his most made free throws without a miss in his career. DJ is now shooting a career high 58.4% from the line.

More reasons to #NBAVote for DeAndre Jordan in the All-Star game!

Loss: Milos Out

Not only did the Clippers lose the game, but they lost Milos Teodosic in the first half to a sore plantar fascia. The loss to OKC can be partly attributed to this. The Clippers’ offense was certainly not as organized, but other players stepped up.

Lou Williams pitched in with 10 assists and Blake Griffin dished out 7 of his own. And on the bright side, the injuries of Teodosic (and Austin Rivers and Patrick Beverley) have given Jawun Evans a chance to make a name for himself. Evans had 4 assists in Teodosic’s place.

Win: Blake and DJ working together

Friends that play together slay together. The Clippers big men both had a productive night against a smaller OKC team, exploiting their lack of size on the interior. The Clippers had 64 points in the paint to OKC’s 50, and these two guys played a major role in that.

Here’s just one play where their teamwork made the dream work.

https://twitter.com/LAClippers/status/949129447797440515

Loss: Clips got out-talented

The Clippers played a hard fought game and was neck and neck with OKC all night. It took a lot of grit and hustle to keep up, but eventually the Clippers let the game slipped from their grips in the fourth quarter. LA simply didn’t have any answers for OKC’s big three.

Paul George was the star of the show for the Thunder. He totaled 31 points in the entire game, with 10 coming in the fourth. Russell Westbrook had somewhat of a lowkey game, but still managed to post a triple double. The Clippers had no answers for him defensively. Carmelo Anthony also had 22 points.

The trifecta scored 82 of OKC’s 127 points, and proved to be too much for this injury-ridden Clipper team to handle.

Next: Austin Rivers to miss 2 more weeks

Win: Willie Reed’s bench celebration

https://twitter.com/LAClippers/status/949136843001405441

The Clippers will face the Golden State on Saturday at Staples Center.

Home/Clippers News