LOS ANGELES – – Paul George scored 22 points and Kawhi Leonard added 19 points to help lead the Clippers second-half surge to comeback and defeat the Chicago Bulls 112-102 on Saturday afternoon.
James Harden picked up 76th triple-double with 14 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds. This was Harden’s second triple-double of the season.
The comeback win for Los Angeles was their third straight victory.
“I thought we played defense. I thought that was the difference between the two halves. We played defense and brought some physicality” George said.
After allowing 57 points in the first half, the Clippers defense only allowed 45 points in the second half.
The Clippers offense got a huge boost off the bench from Norman Powell, who finished the game with 18 points and Bones Hyland who contributed 10 points. Hyland, who is seeing more minutes due to the injury to veteran, Russell Westbrook, went three for three from the 3-point line.
“We talked about at halftime just what to look for just in terms of their coverages and what’s going to be available. And I thought we did a good job of responding,” said associate head coach Dan Craig.
Tyrone Lue coached the game despite an apparent illness but didn’t speak to the media before nor after the game.
The Bulls led the Clippers by as much as 16 points in the third quarter before Los Angeles starting their run. Ivica Zubac scored 10 of his 16 points in the quarter.
The Clippers have won four of their last six games. At 41-21, they remain locked into fourth place in the Western Conference.
Up next for the Clippers is another afternoon matchup this time against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks won the last matchup on March 4th, 113-106, without all star forward Giannis Anteokounmpo.
