The Clippers' eight-game winning streak by the numbers
By Brent Yoo
The LA Clippers' lifeline came in the form of a Paul George triple to complete a 22-point comeback against the Golden State Warriors on December 2. Since then, the Clippers have been flung into a stream of spark and success.
Here's what the numbers say about the team's eight-game win streak.
The Clippers are scoring 126 points per game
The main key to beating teams has been offense for the Clippers. In its eight-game win streak, the Los Angeles team has scored as many as 151 points. In the same span, they blew out the Utah Jazz, Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers by 14, 20, 22 and 24 points, respectively.
Thanks to this newfound success on the offensive end, the Clippers are averaging 126 points per contest during their winning streak. In November, when their record sat at 5-9, the team averaged just 110.8 points in 14 games. The Clippers are scoring the fourth-most points per game in December behind three Eastern Conference teams: the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and Indiana Pacers.
It's clear that the Clippers are great — perhaps nearly unbeatable — when they are consistently finding the bottom of the net in efficient ways.
Three players are averaging more than 20 points
For the last four years, the Clippers have had two standout talents as their number one and two options. Now, they have three of this caliber.
Kawhi Leonard has been the team's clear-cut first option: he is averaging 29.3 points on 62.3% shooting from the field, 5.5 rebounds and four assists. But there's plenty of support from Paul George and James Harden. George is logging 21.6 points per game, while Harden is finding ways to drop 20.1 points per contest. The former MVP also leads the team with 9.8 assists per game.
Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac have also played large parts in the team's undefeated run in December. The veteran guard is scoring 15.8 points off the bench, and the Croatian big is dominating the paint while averaging 13.1 points.
The Clippers are shooting over 42% from deep
Three-point shooting has never been a problem for the Clippers. They have always had three capable shooters in George, Leonard and Powell, and in the past they enjoyed the company of sharpshooters like Luke Kennard and Nicolas Batum.
In adding one of the best shooters the league has seen to the equation in Harden, it seems like a no-brainer that the Clippers are finding a lot of success from behind the arc. The team is knocking down the trey ball from an efficient 42.1% clip over the last eight games.
Leonard leads the pack sinking 54.8% of his shots from downtown in December. George, Harden and Powell are the three other wing players that are knocking down over 40% of their three-point attempts. The Clippers are making 14 threes a game in their undefeated run.
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The Clippers are the hottest team in the NBA right now. And when you look closely at the numbers, it's not hard to see why.