The Los Angeles Clippers came so close to beating the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight. Their team was energized, led by another masterful display from Kawhi Leonard. But their strategy tonight seemed evidently clear. The Clippers hounded Shai Gilgeous-Alexander all night. If they had to be beaten, it would fall onto the others. The Thunder were already without Jaylen Williams and Chet Holmgren. But still, they found a way.

That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a success for the Clippers’ united effort on defense. They held SGA, often an impregnable offensive machine to missing 22 of his 29 shots. The MVP candidate still proved effective with his decision-making, compiling a team-high eight assists. However, the Clippers found great success in preventing him from becoming the offense.

Leonard was especially happy with his team’s performance despite the result. He felt they did a “great job” defending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. It was only after he learned about the tyranny that the MVP candidate faced that the Klaw broke into a laugh. “I think we did good um depending on how he shot her you know what I mean… yeah I think we did a good job,” he said after finding out SGA only made seven of his 29 shots.

And it really was an impressive team performance from the Clippers to stop the scoring leader in the NBA. Notably, Derrick Jones Jr. was his primary cover. The former Heat high flyer stuck with him all game, only letting him shoot 1-13 from the field. Additionally, the Thunder cornerstone didn’t get any easy shots per se.

Aside from a few open looks, the Clippers contested everything that SGA threw. Yet, the remainder of the Thunder roster showed their readiness. Even after going down double digits early, they managed to persevere. Furthermore, just like the Clippers, OKC’s league-best defense posed several challenges for the Clippers.

“I would say they didn’t have a lot of guys that you can attack and that’s their lineup. So I guess that they are just trying to make them the best and you know all of them have the attitude and want to guard one of the best on the floor so like I said it was enjoyable,” Kawhi Leonard revealed after scoring 25 points against the suffocating OKC defense.

Despite the loss, the Clippers showed promising signs of growth and resilience, hinting that they might be on the verge of a breakthrough.

Top Comment by JAMES GARDE

FOR THE CLIPS, THEY’RE READY. THEY ARE IN PLAYOFF MODE. JUST LIKE KAWHI SAID TO HIS TEAMMATES… TAKE ONE GAME...more

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The Clippers look ready to fire

For Ty Lue, a loss had to be upsetting. However, he was more than satisfied with his team’s display against the top seed in the Western Conference. The Clippers were competitive all night, even having moments when they outplayed the Thunder. They just couldn’t close out the game as well as they started it.

Lue was fascinated by their defensive performance. Particularly, he praised his team for how they covered Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. “I thought the defense was pretty good. You know overall you know I thought we did a good job on Shai. Like I said just making him play in traffic. You know not allow him to see seams and get to his spots. When he got beat. I thought the next defender was there to help his teammate. And you know, that’s the best I’ve seen us defend him, you know, since I’ve been here,” he said.

But it was much more than just SGA. The Clippers limited the Thunder to shooting just 40.2% from the field in the intense battle. With the Intuit Dome raving behind them, momentum was on their side. If it weren’t for great defense from Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace, the Clippers may have been able to take the lead in the final possession.

However, they just couldn’t get the ball to drop. But regardless, with health finally on their side, the Clippers are looking formidable. Kawhi Leonard was able to play 40 minutes while Powell has also begun starting regularly. Come playoff time, this is a team that is well-coordinated on both sides of the floor.