Summary

Paul George once again had a hot start, scoring six points in the first three minutes. Despite his early scoring, however, the first quarter was pretty low scoring: the Clippers led 23-17 after one frame. For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with six of his own points after he and Danilo Gallinari returned to LA to a hero’s welcome. Zubac also put eight points in the first nine minutes.

The remainder of the half was likewise pretty tight. The Thunder would go up by as much as five and had the highest scoring quarter of the either team all night (30 points). Chris Paul, in particular, got going for the Thunder, while Montrezl got to the line and scored for the Clippers.

The Clippers won the third quarter, which proved to be the decisive frame, but the foul trouble started to build. Through the third, the Thunder had attempted 22 Free Throws to the Clippers’ 11. Offensively, the George (11 points at the half), Zubac (12), Harrell (14) continued to contribute.

In the final quarter, the Clippers and Thunder were even at 24 points with Paul George providing the final dagger. But the drama was layered by an overturned call that came just after George’s three when a foul call in favor of Gallinari was taken away by a challenge from Doc Rivers.

Notes

The Center Position: The Clippers got 40 points from the Center slot (28 from Harrell, 12 from Zubac). The two have been productive on both ends of the floor all season, including and especially tonight, with scoring, rebounding, and blocks.

Patrick Patterson: Where art thou? After getting significant minutes at the beginning of the season, he only got six minutes and was one-for-four from the field.

Doc Rivers likes the challenge now: