INGLEWOOD — The Clippers tried to approach Tuesday night’s game as just another one on their schedule, just another opponent, just another day in a long season that is winding down.
But as the minutes went by, it became increasingly obvious that this was not just another team standing across from them at Intuit Dome. These were the Cleveland Cavaliers, the squad with the league’s best record, the one with three All-Stars, just 11 losses and legitimate NBA championship aspirations.
But the Clippers didn’t flinch, shaking off an early 12-point deficit to beat the Cavs, 132-119, in front of an enthusiastic home crowd.
“They’ve answered the bell at every chance they’ve had to, and they don’t have very many chinks in their armor,” Clippers assistant coach Brian Shaw said of the Cavs before the game. “But any team can beat anyone on any given night and obviously for us, if we want a chance to win, we have to do all the little things.
“When you’re playing a team like them, who have the record that they have, you can’t beat yourself. So, we have to be on point tonight if we expect to win.”
The Clippers were on point and more. They pushed the Cavaliers (56-12) throughout before using a 20-3 run over the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth to take control and held on to extend their modest winning streak to four games.
Kawhi Leonard scored a game-high 33 points, shooting 12 for 19 from the field (5 for 6 from 3-point range), to go with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals to pace the Clippers (39-30).
Center Ivica Zubac celebrated his 28th birthday by posting his 46th double-double of the season (28 points, 20 rebounds). James Harden finished with 22 points and nine assists, and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 20 points on 8-for-8 shooting (4 for 4 from behind the arc) and seven assists.
The Clippers have won seven of their past eight games with 13 left in the regular season as they try to finish in the top six in the Western Conference and avoid the Play-In Tournament (seeds 7-10).
With the score tied at 102-all, the Clippers outscored Cleveland 13-2 to take their largest lead of the game 115-103 on a pull-up jumper by Bogdan Bogdanovic with 9:12 left to play.
“We haven’t seen this team at all this year yet, so it’ll be a good test for us to see where we really are,” Shaw said before the game.
The Clippers showed they are not far from the best teams when they have a healthy roster and play with a purpose. Only Jordan Miller (hamstring) was out.
Coach Tyronn Lue was out again, missing his fourth game after his back pain intensified throughout the day, forcing him to stay home. Lue had missed previous games because of his back – against the Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans and Miami Heat before returning to the bench on the road against the Atlanta Hawks last Friday.
Shaw coached the Clippers to a 2-1 record in those games with input from Lue via text messages and phone calls. Lue no doubt was on the phone again Tuesday in the fourth quarter when the Cavs pulled within 119-113 with 5:11 remaining.
As it turned out, Shaw didn’t need the long-distance coaching tips as the Clippers held firm to hand the Cavaliers their second consecutive loss after they had won 16 straight.
The Clippers managed to keep the Cavs off balance with relentless pressure inside for much of the game, but Cleveland still found the basket. Max Strus scored a season-high 24 points, Donovan Mitchell had 18 points and 11 assists and Evan Mobley scored 17 points in his return from a one-game absence with a foot contusion.
Darius Garland and De’Andre Hunter added 17 points each for the Cavs, who saw their NBA-best road record drop to 26-7.
The Clippers controlled the boards, 49-29, and the Cavs shot 17 for 26 from the free-throw line, many of those misses coming while shooting in front of “The Wall” portion of the stands during the second half.
The Clippers, seeing their chances slipping away early, went to the 3-point line to get back into the game in the first half.
Trailing by eight after the first quarter, they drilled four 3-pointers – two by Leonard – in the first three minutes of the second to take a 52-51 lead at the 9:20 mark.
Their advantage was brief as the Cavs came back with a pair of long-range shots by Strus and Darius Garland to rebuild a 63-57 lead with 5:17 left before halftime. The Clippers made another to trim the lead to four, but it was as close as they could get in the first half as the Cavs led 73-68 at the half.
The Clippers host Memphis on Friday night.
More to come on this story.