Without real lining this season, Ivica Zubac became the Clippers’ totem. We knew his technique near the circle, but the former Laker has also become a real defensive anchor, to the point of being one of the three players who challenge the most shots in the NBA. Tonight, against the Pacers of a Myles Turner that some announce to the Clippers, the Croatian simply signs his best career game with 31 points and 29 rebounds!!! All at 14 of 17 on shots, with three blocks.
A performance that allows him to climb to 4th place among the best rebounders in the NBA (11.6 catches / m), to establish his 7th place in the ranking of the best blockers, and above all to allow the Clippers to win.
And yet, despite this monumental performance, Ivica Zubac is disappointed… “I was mad at myself because I wanted to make it 30-30 so badly! Clearly, I’m not as happy as I should be.” he reacts. It must be said that it fails a small rebound from this rare performance, achieved only four times since 1981.
Despite the Clippers’ good lead, Tyronn Lue had decided to leave him on the field to get that 30th rebound, while his teammates blocked their players well to allow him to take as many rebounds as possible. But Ivica Zubac, by excess of enthusiasm, will take his 6th fault while trying to counter TJ McConnell.
“It’s crazy to be mentioned alongside Kareem”
“I’m so angry at myself for going against it, but I can’t help it… As soon as I see someone approaching, I try to counter them” he explains.
One thing is certain, Ivica Zubac is the first player since the immense Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to finish a game with 31 points, 29 rebounds and 3 blocks. It was in 1978! He set career records for rebounds, offensive rebounds, but also for his number of points in a quarter (14 in the first).
“It’s crazy…I wanted so badly to make a game with 20 points and 20 rebounds, and it’s crazy to be mentioned alongside Kareem. It’s incredible. »
At the franchise level, Ivica Zubac is the 12th player to achieve a double “double-double”, and the last to date was DeAndre Jordan in 2018. He also has the second best rebounding performance in Clippers history. Just a small rebound from Michael Cage’s 30 catches in 1988.
“I was already at 16 points and 15 rebounds at halftime, and I said to myself that I had to take the maximum of rebounds. Being aggressive on the offensive rebound played a big part in this game.” he concludes.
| Ivica Zubac | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2016-17 | ALL | 38 | 16 | 52.9 | 0.0 | 65.3 | 1.1 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 7.5 |
| 2017-18 | ALL | 43 | 10 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 76.5 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 3.7 |
| 2018-19 * | All Teams | 59 | 18 | 55.9 | 0.0 | 80.2 | 2.0 | 4.2 | 6.1 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 8.9 |
| 2018-19 * | ALL | 33 | 16 | 58.0 | 0.0 | 86.4 | 1.6 | 3.3 | 4.9 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 8.5 |
| 2018-19 * | LAKE | 26 | 20 | 53.8 | 0.0 | 73.3 | 2.4 | 5.4 | 7.7 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 9.4 |
| 2019-20 | LAKE | 72 | 18 | 61.1 | 0.0 | 74.7 | 2.8 | 4.8 | 7.6 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 8.3 |
| 2020-21 | LAKE | 72 | 22 | 65.2 | 25.0 | 78.9 | 2.6 | 4.6 | 7.2 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 9.0 |
| 2021-22 | LAKE | 76 | 24 | 62.6 | 0.0 | 72.7 | 2.9 | 5.6 | 8.5 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 10.3 |
| 2022-23 | LAKE | 20 | 31 | 58.3 | 0.0 | 64.6 | 3.0 | 7.8 | 10.8 | 1.4 | 3.0 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 9.5 |
| Total | 378 | 20 | 59.6 | 9.1 | 74.6 | 2.3 | 4.5 | 6.8 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 8.4 | |
