Facing a tough Brooklyn Nets team still fighting for seeding, the LA Clippers required some late game heroics by Lou Williams to secure the win.
Somehow, this team keeps finding a way. Faced with a tie game at 116 and just 5.3 seconds remaining, the LA Clippers inbounded the ball. Lou Williams recieved a pass from Danilo Gallinari, drove left, and knocked down his first career buzzer beater to give LA the win.
Williams led the Clippers in scoring, dropping 25 off of the bench. The 6’1″ guard also managed to pull down six rebounds. Lou shot 50% from the field and knocked down all of his team-high seven free throws. But while the all-time leading bench scorer capped off this game with a miraculous moment, there are a few other things to take away from Sunday’s victory.
Triple Double-Double
All three of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and Montrezl Harrell notched double-doubles. For SGA, this was the first one of his career, which also came with a career-high in assists at ten. Along with his 14 points, this may have been the best performance of his rookie season, but unfortunately it will be overshadowed by everything else that happened.
Danilo Gallinari dropped 20 points while grabbing a season-high eleven rebounds. He also handed out five assists and was a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line.
Montrezl Harrell also had one of his better games this year. His motor was in full force to the tune of 20 points and 10 rebounds. He also had three blocks, one of which ignited the team on a huge run.
Game of Runs
Speaking of runs, that’s what the majority of this game was. The Nets came out rolling, leading the Clippers 46-27 midway through the second quarter. The Clips went on a monstrous 33-9 run, giving them a 60-55 lead going into the break.
The third quarter belonged to Brooklyn and the teams went into the fourth tied up at 87. The Clippers seemingly had the win locked down with about a minute left to go into the game and and eight point lead, but a three by D’Angelo Russell with 55 seconds left trimmed the lead to just five.
Nets led 46-27.
— Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) March 18, 2019
Clippers led 74-63.
Nets led 82-77.
Clippers led 105-91.
Clippers led 116-106.
It's tied.
The Clippers went into a full nosedive, turning the ball over on a five second violation. A DeMarre Carroll and-one trimmed the lead to two and an airball by Patrick Beverley on the other end let Brooklyn tie the game up. It wasn’t like the Clippers to lose all composure in the final minutes, but definitely should be used as a learning experience.
Last Notes
Landry Shamet had yet another great night shooting the ball. He scored 14 points on 4-9 shooting from deep, his other two points coming from the free throw line. For a rookie, his game looks incredibly developed already and it’s safe to say that LA got a steal by having him included in the Tobias Harris trade.
Ivica Zubac only scored three points in the victory, but looked impressive on the defensive end. The scoring will come, especially once he has the offseason to rehab his injured hands.
The LA Clippers face off against another Eastern Conference playoff bound team on Tuesday as they take on the Indiana Pacers. Currently sitting in 8th place in the West, the Clippers could still move up the standings as far as fourth place, but need every single win possible.