INGLEWOOD — Since the trade deadline, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue has had to adjust his lineup to keep from sinking in the standings, a task made difficult without starters James Harden and Ivica Zubac. Harden was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Zubac was sent to Indiana.
But there is one constant with this year’s team: the Clippers play hard on defense, and they applied the pressure down the stretch but couldn’t hold off the Orlando Magic, 111-109, on Sunday night at Intuit Dome.
The Magic took a 109-107 lead on a goaltending call by Yanic Niederhauser with 1:26 remaining and stretched their lead to 111-107 when Paolo Banchero grabbed the rebound off Niederhauser’s miss and drove the length of the court for a layup with 40 seconds left.
Kawhi Leonard trimmed the lead, 111-109, on a fadeaway jumper at the 28-second mark, and Niederhauser came up with a big block, but Bennedict Mathurin’s 25-footer came up short to drop to 27-30.
“They are going to be tough. They are going to be physical; they’re going to be aggressive,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said of the Clippers’ defense. “They are going to be tough and try to force you into turnovers. So, our club needs to adjust to that, which is more important than who they have on the floor.”
While the Clippers’ defense was that and more, they are going to need more scoring from players not named Kawhi.
Once again, Leonard carried the bulk of the scoring with 37 points – he had 30 through the first three quarters. He also had eight rebounds and four assists.
With his second 3-pointer in the third quarter, Leonard moved past Jamal Crawford for fourth place on the Clippers’ franchise career list with 663.
Mathurin, the Clippers’ second scoring option who came to the team via the Zubac trade, supported Leonard’s effort with 21 points, including a 14-foot turnaround jumper at the buzzer that pushed the Clippers ahead by one, 89-88, at the end of the third.
He added two free throws five the Clippers a 91-88 lead to start the fourth.
It was his third consecutive game with 20 or more points for the Clippers, none of which surprises Lue. It’s what the coach wants to see from the athletic guard.
“We want him to just to be himself, just play. Don’t try to fit in, just do what he does, and we’ll take a look at a 10-game sample size and kind of make sure he’s doing the right things that actually fit into our team concepts,” Lue said.
No one will be arguing after Mathurin made 7 of 16 shots and 4 of 5 free throws to go along with nine rebounds and five assists.
Jordan Miller added 14 points, and Brook Lopez had 10 as the only other Clippers in double figures.
Lue had to juggle his starting lineup again on Sunday after John Collins missed the game after slamming his head on the court after being fouled by Lakers’ Jaxson Hayes in Friday’s loss. He suffered a gash above his left eyebrow that required six stitches, but didn’t suffer a concussion.
Without Collins, Lue had several options to start in his place – Nicolas Batum, Miller and Mathurin, who have been thriving off the bench. Lue tabbed rookie Kobe Sanders, who went from being out of the rotation to a starter.
The Clippers’ offense stalled at times in the first half, and they trailed 57-53 at intermission.
The Magic jumped out to a 13-7 lead and led all but a brief moment in the early going of the first half, quashing any momentum the Clippers tried to establish. Bane had 18 first-half points and finished with 36 points on 13-of-19 shooting.
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