Clippers duo continues to impress off the bench
Boban Marjanovic and Montrezl Harrell have developed an interesting chemistry as reserves for the Clippers.
Harrell has been the hard-charging, energy-and-effort backup center all season for the Clippers.
Marjanovic is the 7-foot-3 center who is way more skilled than most opponents realize.
Both played a big role in helping the Clippers turn a two-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter into a 14-point lead against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night.
“Boban and Montrezl, they’re like a dynamic duo in there,” said Lou Williams, the sixth-man extraordinaire who was on the court with them in the fourth. “One scores and one facilitates. They kind of play off each other. It’s a good group for us. So it helps.”
Marjanovic played just six minutes and six seconds against the Raptors, but he played 5:24 in the fourth and was very effective.
His no-look bounce pass that led to a Harrell dunk in the fourth was a thing of beauty.
Back on defense, Marjanovic got a rebound and hustled down the court. He was rewarded for his effort when Williams found the big man down low for a dunk that gave the Clippers a 96-82 lead.
After the Raptors called a timeout, the Clippers met Marjanovic on the court. DeAndre Jordan and Tobias Harris displayed their excitement by chest-bumping him.
“Every time Boban gets called, he’s ready,” Harris said. “It speaks to a lot about his professionalism and the player that he is. Now he’s showing flashes of what he can do. He’s a really good passer. He’s able to create a lot of havoc for defenses with his size. You can’t prepare for [his size]. We’re lucky to have him.”
Marjanovic finished with four points, three rebounds, one assist, one blocked shot and a plus-10 in the plus-minus category.
Harrell’s high energy, which has become a norm, helped him to score 19 points and grab six rebounds in 19:25.
“They play well together, man,” Jordan said. “Boban threw a no-look pass tonight. That was crazy. I think this team is so good because we like to see each other be successful. No matter if it’s me, if it’s Boban, if it’s Austin (Rivers), if it’s Lou, if it’s Jawun (Evans), Sam (Dekker), all the way down the line, whenever somebody is playing well, you don’t see other people on the sideline upset or not cheering. Everybody is cheering for each other. So when you’re on a team like that, the energy is contagious and it’s fun to be around.”
UP NEXT
VS. MILWAUKEE BUCKS
When: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. PDT.
On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio: 570, 1330.
Update: The Clippers defeated the Bucks last week in Milwaukee, but Bucks All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t play in the second half because of an ankle injury. He’ll be back in the lineup. The do-everything forward is fourth in the NBA in scoring (27.3) and 10th in rebounding (10.0) and double-doubles (37).
Twitter: @BA_Turner
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