Thunder vs. Clippers takeaways: OKC moves to .500 mark after clutch win in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES — Lu Dort, for what felt like an eternity, stayed with Kawhi Leonard step for step. Dort fought over a screen, widened his shoulders and shuffled his feet. When Leonard moved, Dort moved with him, like Dort was one beat ahead of Leonard’s dance.

And when the music stopped? Leonard was left holding the hot potato.

With his Clippers trailing the Thunder by one point, Leonard dribbled the ball for 21.2 seconds without getting a shot off.

The Thunder, credit to Dort’s clamps, (36-36) got to .500 on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, beating the Clippers 101-100.

“It’s me and him on an island,” Dort said, “and I’ve just gotta be smart, not (foul) and get the stop.

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Thunder coach Mark Daigneault was asked if he’d ever seen anything like Dort’s defensive stand.

"Yeah, I saw it in Denver against Jamal Murray,” Daigneault said. “I saw it in Dallas against (Luka) Doncic, I saw it in the playoffs against (James) Harden for like seven straight games.”

It’s a movie Daigneault said he could watch over and over again.

“It's kind of like when A Few Good Men is on TNT and you just end up watching the courtroom scene again,” Daigneault said. “I'll watch it every day.”

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Dort didn’t have a good offensive night. The Thunder guard scored eight points on 3-of-11 shooting. He was 1-of-8 from 3-point range.

But anything he gives away offensively is earned back, and then some, on the defensive end.

“That’s how I made my name in this league,” Dort said. “Good night shooting or bad night shooting, my defense is always going to be there.”

As the seconds ticked, Dort said he didn’t even glance at the clock. He was locked in, like he and Leonard were the only two on the court.

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“He was himself for the most important possession of the night, and that’s what we expect from him, that’s what we know he’s capable of,” Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said.

Gilgeous-Alexander was asked what it’s like to be in the position Leonard was in Tuesday night, in a one-on-one battle with Dort.

SGA didn’t blink.

“Lu would never do nothin’ like that to me,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I know him too well.

“But nah, in all seriousness, Lu is top of the league at what he does, and we all know that. It’s a gift, for sure. It’s something I’m glad I’m on this side of every night.”

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Clippers come out swinging, Thunder responds

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander started the game with a mid-range jumper over Paul George. A silky start per usual for SGA.

Then things got harder. A lot harder.

Kawhi Leonard stole it from Gilgeous-Alexander. Then George picked SGA’s pocket. George kicked ahead to Russell Westbrook who hammered home the fastbreak dunk.

Strange viewing for Thunder fans, by the way, when George, Westbrook and Gilgeous-Alexander are all involved in one play. Too bad the Clippers let go of Reggie Jackson.

Westbrook forced SGA into another first-quarter turnover, but Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder calmed down after that.

The Thunder responded to an 18-4 Clippers start with a 19-4 run of OKC’s own. A 14-point first quarter Thunder deficit ended in a 23-22 first quarter Thunder lead.

The Clippers didn’t make a basket in the last seven minutes of the first quarter.

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Paul George exits with injury

Before Tuesday, the Thunder hadn’t played the Clippers since hosting them on Oct. 25 and 27 in Oklahoma City.

The Thunder won both games — its first two wins of the season.

Kawhi Leonard missed both games. Paul George only played in one of the two.

On Tuesday, the Clippers were close to full strength with Leonard and George in the lineup.

But just as George got going in the fourth quarter, he injured his right leg during a contested rebound with Dort.

George stayed down for a while and eventually exited the game with assistance. He was seen leaving the arena on the back of a cart.

Daigneault, before fielding questions after the game, spoke on behalf of the Thunder in extending its thoughts to George, who played two seasons in Oklahoma City.

ESPN reported on Wednesday that George has a sprained right knee and that he will be re-evaluated in two to three weeks.

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Russell Westbrook, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander face off 

Russell Westbrook always plays with juice. He played with extra juice Tuesday night, especially when he, the former face of the Thunder, was matched up against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the current face of the Thunder.

Westbrook twice poked the ball away from SGA in the third quarter, and during both dead balls, Westbrook riled up the crowd.

Westbrook got in SGA’s grill, but SGA never took the bait.

It wasn’t Gilgeous-Alexander’s best night, which speaks to the superstar he’s become when 31 points (12-of-25), seven rebounds and four assists is ho-hum. He got off to a rocky start with those four turnovers, but by the second half he was back to his old self.

Westbrook, whose Clippers tenure has gone better than most expected, played well on both ends of the floor. He had 15 points and eight rebounds in his 26 minutes.

He played against the Thunder for the 10th time since he was traded from Oklahoma City to Houston in the summer of 2019.

It was Westbrook’s first game as a Clipper against the Thunder after playing the Thunder four times as a Laker, three times as a Rocket and twice as a Wizard.

Westbrook has played well against the Thunder, averaging 24.3 points, 9.7 assists and 8.9 rebounds per game while shooting 51% from the field and 37% from 3-point range. His teams went 4-5 in those games.

In his 11 seasons with the Thunder, Westbrook was an eight-time All-Star and eight-time All-NBA player. He was the MVP of the 2016-17 season.

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Thunder tip-ins

● While the Thunder played the Clippers in downtown Los Angeles, the G League OKC Blue played the South Bay Lakers 15 miles southwest in El Segundo, California. The Blue will finish its regular season Thursday in Henderson, Nevada, against the G League Ignite.

● The Thunder beat the Clippers in Los Angeles for the first time since Jan. 4, 2018, snapping an eight-game losing streak.

● Instead of a second-quarter and-one try for Paul George after a block called on Aaron Wiggins, the Thunder challenged and reversed the play. Wiggins had indeed taken the charge, and the successful challenge took two points, and maybe three, off the board.

● The Clippers picked up three technicals in one second-quarter snap. One on Kawhi Leonard and two on Terrence Mann. Mann was ejected from the game. Mann had been playing well, with eight points and three rebounds in his 11 minutes. Leonard and Mann were assessed technicals after arguing what they thought should’ve been a defensive foul on Wiggins on a Leonard drive.

● According to a pool report, crew chief Curtis Blair said Mann was assessed the first technical for aggressively pointing at an official. Blair said the second technical was the result of Mann directing profanity at an official.

● One T. Mann was gone, but the other T. Mann remained. That would be the Thunder’s Tre Mann, who’s often confused with Terrence Mann.

● Jaylin Williams went boom twice in the second quarter. The latter boom put the Thunder on top 47-45 with 2:34 left before halftime. J-Will fought through foul trouble. He picked up his fourth with two minutes to go before halftime.

● The Clippers gave points away at the free throw line, shooting just 12-of-21.

● OKC shot just 27% from 3-point range, but the Clippers were worse: 19%.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder beats Los Angeles Clippers to move to .500 mark