Close Clipping
This one had the potential to be very, very ugly, and at times it was “agonizing,” as Matt Pinto put it, to behold. But if the Thunder couldn’t shoot, they could (mostly) keep the Clippers from shooting, holding Los Angeles to 10 points in the final quarter to escape the Staples Center with an 83-79 win.
Then again, when Baron Davis had it working, he had it working nicely: the man knows how to work an offense. He dropped in 17 points and served up nine assists; Chris Kaman collected a double-double with 21 points and 11 boards. The Clips managed to hit a meager 35.9 percent from the floor, though they did manage seven treys in twenty attempts.
Speaking of working an offense, Russell Westbrook checked out from that function early, limping off to the locker room; he made it back to the bench, but no farther. This left Kevin Ollie to run the point, and the wily veteran picked up 11 points, as much as the entire L.A. bench. That other guy named Kevin pulled another double-double: Durant had 30 points and 10 rebounds. OKC had a slight edge on the boards, 46-43, and a difference of six personal fouls, by coincidence the number committed by Serge Ibaka in fifteen minutes of pestering the Clips. The Thunder shot only 42.2 percent, but for once that was enough.
So it’s an even split in California. The road trip ends in San Antonio Saturday night; these same Clippers will show up at the Ford on Sunday.
