With Kawhi Leonard available, everything is much easier for the Clippers. And when you have Lou Williams in the mood, be sure that the boys from LA are tough to beat. Last night these two guys led their team to a win over the Portland Trail Blazers at the Staples Center. The final result was 107-101 for the no.1 title contender.
Williams and Kawhi scored the last 15 points for the hosts, who were behind throughout most of the final period. Williams would ad first score a go-ahead jump shot, and after that, with 45.6 seconds left a three-pointer to push the Clippers to 103-99. After that, Leonard dropped four consecutive free throws, and he closed the game.
“I felt if I had an inch, I’d go for the kill,” Williams said.
The Clippers point guard had 26 points along with 8 assists, and just one missed a free throw in 12 tries.
“The Lou-him combination was lethal down the stretch,” Doc Rivers said.
When mentioning coach Rivers, we need to say that he posted his 900th victory as a head coach. The former champion with the Boston Celtics is the no.13 to enter the club.
Though, his team needed to go deep in order to get this one. The Clippers opened the match well and had control over the rival. Even though the hosts didn’t make some noticeable advantage, they kept the Trail Blazers restrained and allowed them just 40 points in the first 24 minutes. The result at the halftime was 47-40, and before that the crew from LA had an 11-point lead.
But all that changed with the start of the third period, in which Portland pored 36 points. The Clippers were in a knockdown and couldn’t pull themselves together, but somehow the visitors didn’t reach the double-digit lead. With the start of the final sequence, the hosts’ confidence returned, and they slowly started to claw their way out of the hole.
Kawhi got them the first lead with 2:40 before the end, and in the next minute and a half, the teams were even or close. Eventually, Williams stepped up and crushed the Blazers’ chances of making an upset in LA.
What is noticeable is that both Lillard and McCollum had an awful fourth period. The only guy who opposed Clippers was Anfernee Simons, with 16 of his 17 points scored in that sequence.
“Usually, I can make those shots down the stretch, but they weren’t falling,” Lillard said. “They were coming out to guard me and picking up full court. Pat Beverley did a good job on defense.”
Dame and McCollum had 22 points each, but the percentages these guys posted were pretty low. They had a combined shooting of 18 for 46 from the field. Hassan Whiteside had 17 points and 19 boards.
On the other side, Ivica Zubac posted another double-double, scoring 15 buckets and grabbing 13 boards. Harrell also had 15 points but with 6 rebounds, while JaMychal Green didn’t score, yet he picked up 10 boards.
The Clippers are facing the Toronto Raptors this Monday, while Portland heads back home to meet with the Nets on Friday.
