Clippers at Wizards
The Los Angeles Clippers are not a great road team yet, and they just got a taste of how far they might be from joining a group of the league's best teams. The Clippers will try to bounce back from their worst loss of the season and earn a rare win on the road when they visit the Washington Wizards on Sunday.
Los Angeles opened a six-game road trip with a 119-91 loss at Eastern Conference-best Milwaukee on Friday - its second loss to Milwaukee this season - and shot 35.1 percent from the floor while falling to 3-6 away from home. "We're just a work in progress," Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard told reporters. "This team is just really kind of put together this year. We've got to figure it out. Some of us don't know the plays coming down, and it's hard to get in our sets. We've just got to keep striving." Los Angeles didn't have any issues on offense in a 150-125 home win last Sunday over the Wizards, who have their own issues on the road and are just making a one-game stop at home before hitting the road for seven of the next eight. Washington dropped the second half of a back-to-back on Friday, falling 112-103 at Miami after beating the Philadelphia 76ers 119-113 at home on Thursday.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, FS Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), NBCS Washington
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (16-7): Leonard and fellow All-Star Paul George combined for 30 points on 10-of-26 shooting and committed 10 turnovers on Friday as they continue to get used to playing with each other. "We have not maximized them offensively yet," Clippers coach Doc Rivers told reporters of his stars. "We keep looking at our offensive numbers, and I've been saying it: It's fool's gold. We're not ready offensively yet. And our numbers say different. But this is where analytically, I'm right. I can see it." Leonard is 8-of-29 from the floor over the last two games while George is 7-of-23 in the team's last two losses.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (7-14): Washington dropped six of its last eight games but was pleased with the way it handled business on the back-to-back. "It's one of the toughest back-to-backs in the East," Wizards coach Scott Brooks told reporters. "Playing Philadelphia, then the long flight down to Miami to play a good, physical, talented, aggressive and tough basketball team. We competed, there's nothing to be ashamed of. We ran out of gas a little bit. I thought we had some good looks in the second half, but we competed and gave great effort." Star guard Bradley Beal struggled with his shot on the back-to-back, going a combined 14-of-41 from the floor with 11 turnovers.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Clippers F JaMychal Green (bruised tailbone) sat out Friday and is day-to-day.
2. Wizards PG Isaiah Thomas (calf) missed Friday's contest and is questionable for Sunday.
3. The home team took the last eight in the series.