Jinx suspected
There’s got to be some explanation for this. The Los Angeles Clippers’ bench was conspicuous by its lack of bench players, most of whom had to start, what with Chris Kaman, Zach Randolph, Marcus Camby and Baron Davis all sidelined with injuries. What’s more, Mardy Collins went down with a pulled hamstring in the first quarter, leaving a total of eight to fill out 48 minutes. And none of that mattered: the M*A*S*H-unit atmosphere of the Staples Center evidently inspired the battered Clippers to play way above their pay grade, as Eric Gordon tossed in 41 points, his career high, and Al Thornton 34 more to give their hometown crowd a 107-104 victory, the third time the Clips have had the Thunder’s number this season.
It’s not like Oklahoma City didn’t bring out the big guns, either: the Kevin Durant Show was good for 46 points, a total he’s never seen before. What’s more, KD outshot the entire L.A. squad at the charity stripe, sinking 24 of 26, and he pulled down 15 rebounds to boot. But Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook both had off nights, and nobody on the team could hold on to the ball: the Thunder committed 18 turnovers, which you can’t do on a night when the opponents only give up seven.
The Clips admittedly didn’t rebound much, but they had other assets: wily veteran Ricky Davis, while he only scored one point, managed to serve up 11 assists, and L.A. knocked down 11 of 19 treys, a better percentage than they managed for their two-point shots. Then there was little-used Cheikh Samb, the Senegalese center who’d played maybe nine minutes all year; in 22 minutes he blocked three shots, hauled in 8 boards, and even scored a bucket. No doubt he was happy to get the time.
So concludes this West Coast trip, at 1-1. Back to the Ford on Monday for the Nets, and Wednesday for the under-new-management Grizzlies, and we won’t have to see the Clippers again until the last game of the season.
Dan B »
24 January 2009 · 8:32 am
Since New Year’s Eve, we win one then lose one. Keep that pattern up and we end up 28-54, 8 games better than the Sonics were last year.
Flack »
24 January 2009 · 9:31 am
I’m not sure which I like less; constantly losing by 30, or constantly losing by 5.