Clippers at Kings
The Los Angeles Clippers are coming off a dreadful performance and look
to bounce back strongly when they visit the Sacramento Kings on Friday.
Los Angeles hoisted a franchise record 46 3-point shots against Denver
on Wednesday but made just 13 while suffering an 87-81 defeat to a team that allowed an average of 117 points over its previous three games.
The Clippers have hit a mini-funk with three losses in five games but coach Doc Rivers is downplaying any suggestions that his club isn't playing well. "I mean, listen, it's a long season, honestly," Rivers told reporters. "We played with the right intentions. We missed wide-open shot after wide-open shot. It’s going to happen. This wasn't one of those games where I thought we just didn't show up and didn't play." Sacramento aims to make a run at a Western Conference playoff spot and had won three straight games before being outclassed 108-92 by the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday. "The system and what they do - run everything perfectly, it's the most perfect team," Kings All-Star DeMarcus Cousins said afterward. "I think we kind of ran out of gas at the end. They're a tough team, man, a tough team."
TV: 10 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), CSN California (Sacramento)
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (37-20): Los Angeles does a lot of chirping about being a team that can compete with Golden State, San Antonio and Oklahoma City atop the Western Conference but a home loss to the lowly Nuggets certainly raises obvious red flags. "It was a tough loss," Clippers point guard Chris Paul told reporters. "You have to give them a lot of credit for playing hard but at the same time, we have to win games like this. I came out before the game started and said, 'We have to bring our own energy.' It was kind of flat out there, kind of dead." Paul had 17 points and 10 assists for his fourth double-double in five games and he is averaging 24 points and 11 assists during the stretch.
ABOUT THE KINGS (24-32): Cousins had 22 points and 10 rebounds for his 33rd double-double of the season but his performance rates as a severe drop-off after averaging 38 points and 14.5 boards over the previous two games. "They made it tough for me at rim," Cousins told reporters after going 8-of-23 from the field. "I missed a lot of bunnies in there. Some of the lobs from (Rajon Rondo) I could have come down with and finished." Rondo handed out 18 assists despite those few that got away for his 38th double-digit performance of the season, one shy of the club record held by Reggie Theus (1985-86).
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Clippers have emerged victorious in six consecutive visits to Sacramento.
2. Los Angeles SG J.J. Redick has made 10-of-18 3-pointers while averaging 21 points over the past two games.
3. Kings backup SG Marco Belinelli is 7-of-26 shooting over the past three games.