Los Angeles– The Clippers(24-13) led by their star duo Paul George and Kawhi Leonard defeated the Toronto Raptors(15-23) 126-120 in a closely contest match at Crypto.com Arena.
Just hours following the signing of a three-year contract extension worth $152.3 million by All-Star wing Kawhi Leonard, George and Leonard scored 29 points a piece. None larger than George’s three-pointer with 0:36 left on the clock to extend the Clippers’ lead to six and seal the victory.
“It means a lot for this organization”, Head Coach Tyronn Lue said. “It just shows that when you can get a top-ten player to sign back, It just says a lot about your organization.”
The victory marked the Clippers’ 16th win in 19 games giving them the best record in the Association since December 1st.
James Harden and Ivica Zubac both record double-doubles for the Clippers. Harden’s 14 points and 11 assists gave him his 10th double-double of the season and Zubac’s 12 points and 11 rebounds gave him his 13th double-double of the season.
The Clippers shot 48% from the field in the first half making 22 of 45 attempts and connected on 5 of 15 from behind the arc for 33 %.
Kawhi Leonard led all scores at halftime with 16 points shooting 55% making 5 of 9 from the field.
The Raptors’ guards posed problems for the Clippers all night. The combination of Immanuel Quickley and Dennis Schroder put pressure on the Clips’ defense by driving down the lane and attacking the paint.
When asked about the Clippers’ defense Kawhi stated “I think we have a lot to improve, they pretty much getting whatever they wanted”.“They started getting to the free-throw line, and those guys did a good job of pushing the pace, getting to the paint as well as knocking down the three-point shot.”
In the first half, the Raptors shot 58% from the field making 25 of 43 attempts. Schroder led the Raptors in points in the half with 11 as they trailed the Clippers by one at halftime 57-58.
In the second half, Paul George scored 25 of his 29 points with 15 of those coming in the fourth quarter. The Clippers went 27 of 48 and shot 56% from the field in the second half, in addition to shooting 10-19 from the three-point line for 56%.
Immanuel Quickley finished the game with 25 points, Rj Barret chipped in 24 points, and Dennis Schroder scored 22 points for the Raptors who were without Pascal Siakam due to back spasms.
The Raptors shot 51% in the second half, making 21 of 41 shots from the field. They also went 8 of 18 from deep for 44%.
The Clippers gained their largest lead of the night in the fourth period as they were up 119-108 with three minutes remaining before the Raptors would rally to cut the Clippers lead down to just three with less than a minute left on the game clock.
Paul George’s aforementioned three-point dagger with 0:36 left on the clock sealed the game for the Clippers.
The Clippers will travel to Memphis next as they prepare for the Ja Morant-less Grizzlies who is out for the remainder of the season with a labral tear in his shoulder.
