The Clippers finally got a much-needed jolt on Saturday night, snapping a five-game skid with a win over the Lakers. And while beating your crosstown rival always feels good, this one carried a little more weight. Head coach Tyronn Lue had challenged his team before tip-off - not just to win, but to start climbing out of the early-season hole they’ve dug.
Lue laid it out plainly: for the Clippers to even hit .500, they’d need to go 35-20 the rest of the way. Then he upped the ante - 36-19 if they want to finish with a winning record.
That’s a tall order for a team that entered the night near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. But Lue knows the math, and more importantly, he knows his locker room.
He’s trying to give his players a target, a rallying point.
“We got to start at one,” Lue said postgame. “We told our guys that today.”
And they did. The Clippers came out with purpose, building a 15-point lead by halftime.
Lue thought it should’ve been more - 20 or even 25 - and he wasn’t thrilled with how they closed. The second half lacked the same urgency, and the team didn’t quite “run through the tape,” as he put it.
Still, a win is a win, and for a group that hadn’t tasted one since December 3 - and hadn’t won at home in over seven weeks - it mattered.
Lue leaned hard on his stars to get it done. Kawhi Leonard logged nearly 42 minutes, and James Harden wasn’t far behind at just under 41.
That kind of workload in December tells you everything about the stakes. The Clippers needed this one, and they played like it.
Harden, who’s been through his share of ups and downs this season, admitted the team’s issue hasn’t been getting leads - it’s been keeping them.
“I think we’ve probably led in every single game we played,” Harden said. “We’ve had big leads and then allowed them to just (dissolve), however that looks.
So just finding a way to win a game, man. And it feels like it’s been forever, but I feel good.”
That’s the vibe around the Clippers right now - cautious optimism. They’re still in a tough spot, sitting with one of the five worst records in the league, and their first-round pick is headed to Oklahoma City.
There’s no tanking safety net here. But Saturday was a step, and maybe that’s the start of something.
Still, the night wasn’t all good news. Starting center Ivica Zubac went down early with a left ankle injury and didn’t return.
He’s been a steady presence this season, averaging 15.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, and a block per game - and hadn’t missed a single contest until now. The team said he’ll be evaluated Sunday, and any extended absence would be a significant blow to a frontcourt that’s already thin.
Meanwhile, the Clippers are still waiting on the return of their first-round pick, who’s been dealing with knee soreness. The rookie big man has played just once since December 3, and Lue didn’t have an update on his status.
Off the court, LeBron James was asked about Chris Paul’s situation - the Clippers recently announced they were parting ways with the veteran guard. James, a longtime friend of Paul’s, kept it short and professional.
“It’s not for me to comment on, to be honest,” he said. “It’s none of my business.”
So where do the Clippers go from here? They’ve got a long road ahead, and the margin for error is razor-thin.
But if Saturday was any indication, they’re not ready to fold. Lue’s challenge is out there.
Now it’s on the players to answer it - one game at a time.