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The LA Clippers have won three games in a row and are aiming to extend their longest winning streak of the new season when they host the Indiana Pacers Sunday evening in the teams’ first meeting in this campaign.
Game Information:
When: Sunday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. PT
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
How to watch/listen: Fox Sports Prime Ticket, AM 570 Radio
Streaming: fuboTV
Projected Starting Lineups:
Clippers: Patrick Beverley, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Nicolas Batum, Serge Ibaka
Pacers: Malcolm Brogdon, Edmond Sumner, Myles Turner, Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holliday
Injuries:
Clippers: Lou Williams (left hip) — QUESTIONABLE
Pacers: Caris LeVert (kidney), Jalen Lecque (ankle), T.J. Warren (foot), Brian Bowen (groin), Jeremy Lamb (knee) — OUT; Goga Bitadze (ankle) — DOUBTFUL
LA cruised in a win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday in Sacramento, 138-100, even though they were missing Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams. It was the 15th consecutive win by the Clippers over the Kings in Sactown.
Reggie Jackson had his best game of the season so far, and Paul George and Kawhi Leonard continued to put in the work and lead the team to victory in the win, and the Clippers, now 9-4 on the season and the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, seem to be finding some rhythm.
Of course, the elephant in the room is that the Clippers have been playing shorthanded or demonstrably weaker teams for the better part of two weeks now. That appears set to continue, with the Pacers missing their newest player, Caris LeVert, who was shipped to Indiana Saturday in exchange for Victor Oladipo, as part of the larger James Harden trade. Unfortunately, during his physical doctors found a mass on LeVert’s kidney, and while the trade has proceeded, he is out indefinitely until the medical staff can figure out what’s going on.
The Pacers are off to a good start this season, going 8-4 so far and a commanding win in Portland over the Trail Blazers on Thursday. Malcolm Brogdon is playing well, leading the team in scoring and assists, and Myles Turner has been a blocking machine, averaging more than four a game. Given the Clippers’ reliance on their 3-point shooting lately, perhaps they won’t give Turner much opportunity to reject their attempts at the rim.