Knicks takeaways from Saturday's 144-122 loss to Clippers, including second-quarter collapse
The Knicks struggled in the second game of a back-to-back, falling to the Los Angeles Clippers on the road, 144-122.
Here are the takeaways….
- Coming off a dominant 50-point performance on Friday, Jalen Brunson got off to a slow start against the Clippers, going 1-for-5 from the field with just four points as the Knicks trailed 35-32 after the first quarter. Donte DiVincenzo kept New York in the game, through, going 4-for-4 from beyond the arc while Julius Randle added in 10 early points of his own.
Among all the stars on this Clippers team, it was Ivica Zubac who stole the show early on. The center scored 11 first-quarter points, including a huge dunk over Jericho Sims that had the LA bench in awe. Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting.
- Josh Hart was ejected with 9:28 left in the second quarter after receiving his second technical foul of the game for arguing with the referees. Hart played just eight minutes before the ejection, recording a rebound, assist, block, and steal.
- New York took the lead midway through the second, going up 54-52 after an 8-0 run. Brunson then started to find a groove, hitting three straight shots, including his first three-pointer of the night, to put the Knicks up 61-57. The Clippers turned things around quickly, going on a 10-0 run thanks to two NY turnovers and forcing two Tom Thibodeau timeouts in less than a minute. Terance Mann made it a 13-0 run with another three to give the Clippers a 70-61 lead with less than two minutes left in the half.
LA finished the half on a 20-5 run and led 77-66. Leonard continued to pace the Clippers with 20 points, while James Harden added in 10 points and Mann had 11 (all in the second quarter). Brunson got up to 13 points after his slow start, while Randle and DiVincenzo cooled off in the second.
- The Knicks shot 51.2 percent (22-for-43) through two quarters, just slightly less than LA at 52.3 percent (23-for44). However, the eye-catching stat of the first half was the Clippers shooting 30 free throws (26 makes) compared to just 18 attempts (15 makes) for New York.
- The third quarter opened up very similarly as the first, with Zubac getting a dunk and DiVincenzo hitting a three. Leonard then went on a little run to extend the Clippers lead to 16 points. RJ Barrett started to come alive, making a floater, hitting two free throws, and then nailing a three-pointer to cut the lead to nine. Paul George also made his presence felt by scoring inside, stealing a pass from Randle, and then drilling a three to make it a 94-78 game midway through the quarter.
The Clippers' lead then grew to 20 after a Leonard three. Randle did all he could to bring the Knicks back in the game, scoring five straight during a 9-0 run to make it 107-94 and force a LA timeout with 1:38 left in the third. Brunson got up to 20 points with a floater, but the Knicks still trailed, 114-98, after three quarters.
- Thibodeau opted for subbing out Brunson down 18 points with 10:30 left in the fourth quarter, as Miles McBride entered the game for the first time. Brunson and Randle re-entered the game with about seven minutes left, but the deficit hadn't really budged, down 125-106. Amir Coffey drained a three to give the Clippers a game-high 24-point lead and force Thibs to call another timeout. The subs then came in for both teams, including recently signed Taj Gibson for New York.
Both Brunson and Randle scored 22 points for NY, while Barrett and DiVincenzo both had 18 points. Leonard led LA with 36 points with five threes in 30 minutes and George scored 25 points, as the Clippers had seven players in double-figures.
Highlights
What’s next
The Knicks will stay in Los Angeles and face LeBron James and the Lakers on Monday night at 10:30 p.m.
