The Los Angeles Clippers needed every bit of Friday night to escape with a 113-112 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder at Intuit Dome in an NBA Cup matchup.
It was the kind of game that tested a team already carrying a 2-8 record into the night, and the Clippers nearly let it slip away after building a cushion early. Instead, Darius Garland came through with the play that decided it, driving hard to the rim and finishing an and-one with just under a minute left in the fourth quarter to put Los Angeles ahead for good.
Garland finished with 24 points and seven assists, and his late burst helped the Clippers pick up just their third win of the season.
“If you do the right things the right way, it's going to eventually work out for you,” Clippers head coach Ty Lue said after the game. “I'm proud of our guys for sticking with it.”
Brook Lopez gave the Clippers an important lift throughout the night and was their most productive scorer overall, finishing with 26 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Rui Hachimura added seven points and 11 rebounds, giving Los Angeles help on the glass in a game where every possession mattered.
The Clippers looked in control for much of the first half. After a sluggish opening stretch from both sides, they settled in and took a 57-44 lead into halftime. Lopez led the way with 12 points before the break, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had already piled up 18 points to keep Oklahoma City from falling too far behind.
But the second half brought the kind of wobble that has haunted the Clippers early this season.
Oklahoma City came out of halftime with more force, and Jared McCain quickly became a problem. He drilled three three-pointers early in the third quarter, helping spark a 19-6 Thunder run that erased the deficit and tied the game at 63-63 by the 7:28 mark. The pressure on the Clippers’ defense was enough to force Lue into two timeouts in the first five minutes of the period.
McCain kept rolling, and he capped the quarter with his fifth three-pointer at the buzzer to send the Thunder into the fourth with an 84-82 lead.
The final quarter turned into a test of nerve. Oklahoma City’s second unit kept making things difficult, and Alex Caruso, who had opened the game 0-for-7 from the field, finally found a big shot when he knocked down an open three-pointer to give the Thunder a four-point lead late.
The Clippers answered, though, putting up 31 points in the fourth to stay alive long enough for Garland to take over. His drive and finish through contact with under a minute left gave Los Angeles the 113-112 edge, and the Clippers held on from there.
Gilgeous-Alexander was outstanding in defeat, scoring 40 points against the franchise that drafted him in 2018. The Thunder guard kept Oklahoma City in the game all night, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Clippers’ late push.
Friday also carried a familiar layer of drama because of Gilgeous-Alexander’s history with the franchise. The Clippers drafted him in 2018 and traded him to Oklahoma City in the summer of 2019 as part of the deal that brought Paul George to Los Angeles. On this night, he reminded them exactly what they gave up.
Still, the last word belonged to Garland and the Clippers, who will try to carry the win into Sunday afternoon when they host the Charlotte Hornets at Intuit Dome.
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What makes the case more compelling is that Miller has stood out in more than one area, showing value as a scorer, rebounder and defender while making the most of limited run. For a team that is always balancing development, depth and the demands of a playoff chase, his impact has created a real question for Ty Lue: whether those brief cameos are enough, or whether Miller has earned a more stable role in the rotation. [Read more 🡒]