Deprived of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Marcus Morris, the Clippers quickly showed signs of weakness in attack. They cash an 8-0 to start and take three minutes to register a first basket. Fortunately, the presence of Ivica Zubac in defense makes it possible to avoid too large a gap.
The two teams exchange missed 3-point shots and do not leave each other. It took until the end of the first period and the start of the third quarter to see the Thunder take the lead. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is on the move, John Wall and company are overwhelmed and take a 21-0!
Without reaction for long minutes, Tyronn Lue’s troops are almost 25 points behind. In the last act, they finally manage to show a little resistance, to come back a little, but never to shake the Thunder, which therefore wins 108-94 and thus records its first victory of the season.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
The Clippers offense down. The first quarter was terrible with only 18 points scored. We could then hope for a simple ignition delay, following the absences of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, but the result was not more glorious. Los Angeles players will accumulate missed shots, lost balls, unimaginative possessions. It takes 32 minutes to see them painfully reach 50 points… The Clippers finish with 42% shooting success and 18 lost balls against one of the weakest teams in the league. An evening to forget.
Thunder efforts. For its first success of the season, Oklahoma City made the effort. In the game, it was not always brighter than Los Angeles (even worse in shooting), but they lost only five balls, stole 12 and mostly swallowed 21 offensive rebounds. The symbol of this game is the last possession of the third quarter: the Thunder players miss an open 3-point shot, but take the offensive rebound, miss the target again, before giving Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who scores at 3-pts.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. 33 points at 50% shooting success, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks. The Thunder star was unquestionably the best player on the pitch. The former Clippers rookie made the difference at the start of the third quarter, by chaining the baskets, and without forcing too much, he was able to find his teammates when the circle path was closed.
✅ John Wall. Difficult to take out a Clippers player in this complicated meeting. Ivica Zubac (14 rebounds, 7 blocks) was good in defense, but we can also highlight the playmaker’s game. With 12 points and 4 assists in 20 minutes, he did what he knows how to do and his performance is satisfactory. Admittedly, the former Washington lost 4 balls, but he was not the most disappointing among the Californians.
⛔ Reggie Jackson. He was probably the one who had to carry the Clippers or at least wake them up. He passed by. Never in his match, Jackson tried, but without finding the target. He finished with 9 small points and above all an ugly 4/17 on the shoot.
THE FOLLOWING
Thunder (1-3) : new reception of the Clippers, Thursday.
Clippers(2-2) : another trip to Oklahoma City on Thursday.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
