Five takeaways from the Clippers’ 121-115 win over the Sacramento Kings
Five takeaways from the Clippers’ 121-115 win over the Kings at Golden1 Center in Sacramento on Thursday:
1. Montrezl Harrell got the opportunity to play more because of yet another Clippers injury, and he took advantage.
Harrell scored a season-high 25 points. He missed just one of his 12 shots. He played 27 minutes, 4 seconds, most of that because DeAndre Jordan went down with a sprained left ankle in the second quarter.
Harrell, the backup center, played with his usual zest and energy.
2. Wesley Johnson played one of his better games of the season. Johnson had 13 points and three rebounds off the bench. He was three-for-four from three-point range.
3. The Clippers stroked the three-point ball very well. They made 41.9% of their three-pointers.
Per usual, Lou Williams led the way by going five-for-12 from three-point range. Blake Griffin was two-for-seven, Tyrone Wallace one-for-three, Milos Teodosic two-for-five, and Johnson three-for-four.
4. The Clippers put their 20th different starting lineup of the season on the floor, an NBA high.
Rookie Wallace started his first game of the season, alongside Griffin, Jordan, Teodosic and Williams.
5. In just his fourth game of the season after being called up from the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, the Clippers’ development league team, Wallace made the defining play for Los Angeles.
The Clippers were clinging to a two-point lead late in the game and had put the basketball in the hands of the capable Williams.
But when he was trapped, Williams threw an errant pass and the ball was stolen by Kosta Koufos with 15.2 seconds left. Koufos, a center, looked unsure what to do with the ball as he took a couple of dribbles.
Sensing this, Wallace kept his eye on Koufos, who also threw an errant pass. Wallace stole the ball and dribbled in for a dunk and a 119-115 Clippers lead with 10.9 seconds left.
Williams was one of the first Clippers to high-five Wallace.
Wallace finished with eight points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block in 36:37.
Twitter: @BA_Turner
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