INGLEWOOD — As the Clippers work their way through six games in nine days, it would be tempting to dial back minutes and rest the starters. Save the stars for the marquee games and give bench players an occasion to play.
But that’s not the approach the Clippers are taking during this grueling stretch of games. Just the opposite.
“We got to go for it. I mean, like I said, just game by game and (see if) guys are feeling good,” Coach Tyronn Lue said. “That’s how we want to take this hard stretch. … So right now everyone’s feeling good, so we’re just going to play our normal minutes.”
And they needed every single minute by every single available player Monday, and that still wasn’t enough as the Chicago Bulls ran away with a surprising 112-99 victory at the Intuit Dome.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Clippers (24-18), who were outscored 36-16 in the third quarter.
“I think the stress we’re going through right now, we just got to be mentally tough,” Lue said. “Take it game by game, don’t look at it as six games in nine nights, four and five; just take it game by game.”
The Clippers’ compacted schedule, which includes another back-to-back on Wednesday-Thursday, is a result of the NBA having to reschedule games postponed because of the wildfires that ravaged the Los Angeles area this month.
Star Kawhi Leonard sat out the second night of the Clippers’ first back-to-back series this week. Joining him on the bench was center Ivica Zubac, who was accidentally poked in the eye by Lakers big man Anthony Davis a day earlier. Lue said Zubac’s eye swelled up later Sunday night.
“It got worse last night and then he got some things done to it, so hopefully it won’t be too long,” Lue said. “It was a tough blow. So, Zu misses the game, it’s got to be pretty serious.”
Zubac’s absence left Lue starting back-up Mo Bamba. Bamba, who has not played more than 17 minutes in a game this season, finished with 10 points and seven rebounds in 15 first-half minutes.
Lue had said he wanted to give a few role players the chance to log significant minutes this week; Monday’s game presented a prime opportunity. The Bulls (19-25) came into the game having lost five in a row, and like the Clippers, were on the second night of a back-to-back.
Yet, any idea of relying heavily on the bench went awry quickly as the Bulls ran out to a 10-point lead in the first quarter, then overcame a seven-point deficit in the second quarter to trail 50-48 at halftime.
Without Zubac and Leonard and little production from Kris Dunn, Lue was forced to go to the bench to give the starters a breather. Norman Powell played 38 minutes, scoring a team-high 27 points, while James Harden posted 17 points, five rebounds and 10 assists in 36 minutes.
Derrick Jones Jr. and Terance Mann each scored 12 points as the Clippers shot just 39.4% from the field (21.4% from 3-point range) and were outrebounded 54-40.
The Clippers never truly solved the Bulls’ transition game, falling behind by as many as 18 points in the second half, or found a way to stop Zach LaVine. The UCLA product scored a game-high 35 points on 11-of-21 shooting and scored 15 points in the pivotal third quarter. Josh Giddey had 18 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, while Talen Horton-Tucker contributed 18 points off the bench.
The Bulls, who were without top scorers Ayo Dosunmu (calf) and Coby White (ankle), made 15 3-pointers, led by five from LaVine.
Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball, who started his NBA career with the Lakers in 2017 but has played just 57 games over the past four seasons because of various knee issues, finished with five points, four rebounds and three assists.
More to come on this story.