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Clippers center Ivica Zubac, left, and Kings forward Domantas Sabonis get their arms tangled as they reach for a rebound during the first half Friday at Intuit Dome. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
The NBA Cup encounter between the Clippers and Sacramento Kings heightened both teams’ awareness even with this being an early-season game.
Both teams had lost their first Cup game and were in need of a victory to stay relevant during the in-season tournament.
For the Clippers, the Cup game gave them another chance to improve their sloppy play when it came to taking care of the basketball and to keep taking steps in the right direction.
And the game allowed the Clippers to once again show how mighty they are on defense, which they did in slowing down the high-scoring Kings during a 104-88 win Friday night at Intuit Dome.
The Clippers were 1-3 last season in Cup play, but by winning their fourth consecutive game, they improved to 1-1 in the NBA Cup group play.
“All games are meaningful for us,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “Playing for the Cup and having a chance to go to Vegas to play for the big money is always intriguing as well. But we got to play the same way every night, whether it’s the Cup, whatever we are doing, being shorthanded.”
Read more: Clippers’ offense steps up to end Orlando’s winning streak
The Kings average 116.9 points per game, seventh best in the NBA, and shoot 48.9% percent from the field, third best. De’Aaron Fox averages 28.8 points per game, the sixth-best in the league.
From the start, the Clippers put the clamps on Sacramento.
L.A. held Sacramento to 12 points and 19% shooting in the first quarter, 11.9% (one for nine) from three-point range. For the game, the Kings shot 38.6% from the field and 20% from three-point range.
Fox made his first shot on his sixth attempt. He finished the game with 29 points, but that wasn’t enough to overwhelm the Clippers.
They opened a 14-point lead at the end of the first quarter that grew to 25 in the second quarter.
The Clippers helped their cause by taking care of the basketball and by getting 22 points and nine assists from James Harden and a…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/clippers-beat-kings-fourth-win-060712119.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2024-11-23 06:07:00
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