Kawhi Leonard. He's bringing the and one logo back that old apparel company after
multiple and ones late to give the Clippers the victory. Plus a block on
Kelly Ubre, game saving block. Clippers win in Philly one o eight to
one oh seven. Welcome back in the Clippers stock. I'm at a Moslin.
Before we get to will Updyke, let's pause ten seconds for station identification.
Here on AM five seventy LS Sports, this is LA Clippers Basketball.
AM five to seventy KLAC Los Angeles ninety eight seven KYSR HD two Los Angeles
and iHeartRadio station. Well, well, to me, this was the blueprint
for the type of victory the Clippers needed in this time of need, where
they were reeling, where it looked like they were letting go of the rope
and letting season get away from them. I prefer this over a blowout victory
in Philly. Honestly, you need to learn how to win these type of
games again and be reminded what it takes to compete possession to possession. What
say you, Oh, I agree one hundred percent. Look, even if
you're optimistic, I don't think that this game had the potential to be a
blowout game. Like, while it's been critical of the Sixers and their level
of competition versus the Clippers, you're playing a team that's very good at home
and you know, still still above the play in team in the East.
Like, I don't think that there was ever the possibility that this wasn't going
to be a back and forth game, barring some sort of like crazy shooting
anomaly or something. I think this is what's exactly what they needed. I
agree with you one hundred percent. Look, this is the first time I
feel that they've actually overcome some adversity in a few weeks, not just you
know, not just battling back in the fourth, but overcoming terrible shooting performances
from both Kawhi and Paul George. And I don't fault either one of them,
obviously, you know, you don't have that much control over whether the
ball's going down or not. But the way that they were able to stay
committed to the game, and especially stay committed on the defensive end, I
think that this was one of the This is the the most encouraging win I
feel as though we've had in kind of a while. If the Clippers do
go streaking. This is the one we'll look back on and say the season
flipped here, something was born tonight. Let's hope, I really hope and
that's the case, because I don't know how you can't be inspired after the
play from Kawhi Leonard late, who went at his former teammate and Nick Matoom
for an and one with the left hand after having one with the right hand.
After Philly continued to make tough shots on the Clippers. I was extremely
encouraged by the fact that Kawhi didn't settle for jumpers. He got to the
basket late. And part of the reason it happened was because the Clippers went
small and they spread the floor. Coach Lou pushing the right buttons, Kawhi
Leonard executing out there. Yeah, yeah, it was. It was just
absolutely great to see. And they tightened things up on the fast break in
this one too. I mean, you know, it's contradicting what I said
earlier. I guess some outlier shooting performances from Kawhi and Paul George, and
maybe this one is a little easier to put away, but I still like
that they got in the trenches and dug this one out and you know James
Harden in his return game too, not perfect, just forty percent from the
floor, but still fourteen assists, sixteen points. I mean, it's not
if you can get If you can get that much out of James and a
game like you got from Kawhi and Paul George, I feel very confident when
the Clippers are at But like I said, it's aside from the box scores,
really just that I thought the termination to win was there in a way
that I haven't seen this team execute in a while. Like they were just
they were really dialed in, and even if they weren't stopping everything, it
just it looked a lot tighter out there. It wasn't perfect, it wasn't
pretty. They didn't play their best, but that's exactly the recipe for winning
playoff games. They often end up like this and you're just a few plays
better late. But you mentioned James Harden. I thought he carried them in
the first half with eleven and six, with getting up eight shots on the
first half. When people have said, you know, in the past and
some of these moments the crowd is on top of him, he just goes
into a shell. He continued to take shots early and often, which I
thought was very big for him in this ball club to not just cower because
they're booing him relentlessly in Philadelphia like pretty much no other city can, and
Jame Harden just absorbed it and played through it. Yeah, I mean,
look, that's what he needs to do. And while I do think this
role is complimentary to him in that he doesn't have the same amount of scoring
burden thrust upon him that he that he has for most of his playoff career,
I mean, certainly since Houston. You look at the nets and then
the seventy six ers, he doesn't have anywhere near the level of offensive burden
that he had on those teams. He is also much older, but even
still, just presenting somewhat of the threat completely changes the dynamics of how a
defense can approach you out there and opens things up for everyone else and lets
him really exercise what I think is the most genius part of his game,
which is really like his eye for the floor in his IQ for passing the
ball. He is still an all time scorer for sure, one of the
best of his generation, but with being a step slower, being you know,
aggressive as he can can help open up what I think is the best
part of this game. He was diamond out there. He had some unbelievable
passes fourteen assists to one turnover. I think he got Kawhi his first bucket
that passed between two defenders. That was That was a special performance from James
Harden. It may not look like it, only sixteen points, six of
fifteen, shooting three of nine from the outside, but he really set the
table offensively, and with the Clippers not getting much from their two stars,
I think they were three for fourteen at the half, Kawhi and Paul George.
He kept them well within striking distance. They're down for then PG starts
to really get it going in the third, really got it going, of
course in that fourth quarter early on, and to me, that was the
test. They were down by nine a minute in to that fourth quarter,
about forty five seconds in. And what have we seen the last couple of
games, the last couple of weeks. When that has happened this Clippers team,
it would just break their spirit, it would break their will, would
just give into it. They would forget that they could have a run of
their own. And Paul George knocked down a three pointer, a big silencer
run type of moment there. That's how I saw it. Will Yeah,
no, I agree. Look at the beginning of that fourth quarter, things
didn't look locked in. Right off to that Sixers were looking to extend the
lead. You know, I was clenched. It felt like the exact same
position we've been in all like we've been in multiple times. I really want
to give credit though, to Paul George, who I have been pretty critical
of over this last stretch of games. I feel like when he looks disengaged,
it's really really obvious, but he was feeling it in Philadelphia to night,
and it was absolutely huge in that fourth quarter in getting some momentum going
back in our direction. They also two one three. They led the Clippers
in rebounding. They combined for nineteen boards. They had six offensive rebounds.
There were a few highly athletic explosive rebounds from each of them in the second
half where they really had no business getting those boards and showing that hey,
the Clippers can rebound too. In fact, they ended up with eleven offensive
rebounds to ten for the Philadelphia seventy six ers, after I think they had
five in the opening quarter, and it looked like the same old thing with
the Clippers not putting together a better effort in the rebounding department, and it
took their stars to do the dirty work there. So that's big to me
too. Just getting the victory in this manner. I think it's huge for
this Clippers team. But time will tell. They're in Orlando on Friday.
Tip time for that one is at four. We'll have pregame at three.
Will Updyke has been our guest from Clips and dip here on Clippers Talk.
Will thanks for a little double dip here, my friend. Absolutely my pleasure.
Let's go clip