Predictions and Matchups:
The Los Angeles Clippers (29-26) and the New York Knicks (28-25) Will face each other for the first time this season.
Even though the Los Angeles Clippers have had a relatively quiet season, they are only two games away from a Top-3 seed in the West. The biggest reason for such is Paul George's all-around performance, recently making his ninth All-Star appearance. George will be ready for a big game tonight against the failing New York Knicks defense despite coming off two below-par games in which he didn't score more than 16 points.
If Kawhi Leonard participates in the game tonight, Quentin Grimes will probably follow him for the majority of the evening. George is now in a position to face off against RJ Barrett. Barrett's defense hasn't exactly been stellar thus far. Although he is big and strong enough to be a good defender,
In the past 11 games, Kawhi Leonard's stats have been nothing but superstar level, making him look like his old self.
Kawhi Last 11 games:
29 PTS, 7 REBS, 4 ASTS
33 PTS, 9 REBS, 4 ASTS
24 PTS, 8 REBS, 4 ASTS
30 PTS, 6 REBS, 4 ASTS
27 PTS, 4 REBS, 1 AST
36 PTS, 4 REBS, 7 ASTS
30 PTS, 9 REBS, 3 ASTS
25 PTS, 9 REBS, 3 ASTS
27 PTS, 3 REBS, 7 ASTS
32 PTS, 8 REBS, 4 ASTS
33 PTS, 4 REBS, 5 ASTS
Along with a 35-point 5 reb and 3 assist game today as well
Game Summary:
On Saturday night, the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the New York Knicks 134-128 in overtime thanks to Kawhi Leonard's 35 points and Paul George's 30 points.
At the end of regulation, Nicolas Batum's game-tying 3-pointer led the team to overtime. After nearly blowing a 17-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
With Jalen Brunson scoring more than 40 points on 74% FG shooting, it was a painful loss for the city of New York and the fans.
With 6 of the Clippers players in double-digit figures tonight, this win was well worth it. Norman Powell's additional 24 points along with the Poster on Randle is what made him show the league that he still got it. Proving as a serious contender for 6MOY. With Kennard and Wall out, two key factors in the team's offensive mechanism, it was tough for this team to pull away with the victory despite the continuous draining of shots.
Overall this game has shown us one of the reasons why the Clippers may be a championship-contending team. In Leonard and George's fourth year with this team- injuries and load management are various factors that have prevented this team from achieving their lifelong dream. In spite of this, the team just shows how dangerous they can be once healthy. Kawhi Leonard showing once again why he is one of the best two-way players the game has ever seen.
Here's what Clippers' head coach Tyronn Lue had to say after the game:
"I hope we could finish the game in the fourth quarter by making some jumpers to put them away." But Nico made a tremendous shot. We won with guts. Nico makes the decisive shot, and we kept the overtime under control."
Four points were scored by the Clippers to start overtime, and they never lost control of the game. In the extra session, Leonard made all eight of his free throw attempts, going 12 for 12.
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