LOS ANGELES — The effort was there Monday night, and so was Russell Westbrook. The Clippers even showed glimpses of defense. But the only thing the Clippers couldn’t produce was a victory.
Despite a more spirited level of play, the Clippers couldn’t keep up with the run-happy Indiana Pacers and lost, 133-116, their fifth consecutive loss on their home floor at Crypto.com Arena.
But it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue had talked non-stop lately about the team’s need to bolster their defense and after an up-and-down March, they finally got defensive stops but couldn’t keep the Pacers from topping their season average of 123.1 points per game.
Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner and Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers’ attack as they shot 58.1% from the field and 60.7% from 3-point range. Siakam led Indiana with 31 points and four rebounds, while Turner added 24 points and seven rebounds and Haliburton had 21 points and nine assists.
Their second consecutive loss left the Clippers (44-27) in a tie with the idle New Orleans Pelicans for fourth place in the Western Conference, six games out of first.
Asked why his team was mired in a slump, Lue said, “We’re a .500 basketball team.”
Why?
“Maybe that’s who we are.”
Lue had hoped Westbrook’s return would provide a needed spark for the Clippers, who have been in something of a funk lately. They had lost five of their past eight games, including a 121-107 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday afternoon.
Westbrook checked into his first game in more than three weeks at the 5:24 mark of the first quarter, giving the Clippers the energy off the bench they had missed in his absence. He had six points in the first half.
Westbrook had been sidelined since he broke his left hand on March 1 and had surgery three days later. He had been averaging 11.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 58 games.
He finished with 14 points and seven assists in 18 minutes against the Pacers.
“I think having that pace and having that energy on the floor is definitely infectious and we need that pop,” Lue said. “… having that pop, we could definitely use that.”
The Westbrook effect only went so far. The Pacers, behind Haliburton’s long-range shooting, quickly quieted the Clippers in the first half, erasing a one-time eight-point lead to hold a 65-62 advantage at halftime.
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Paul George got the Clippers moving early, leading them to a brief lead in the first quarter. He had 13 points in the opening half.
The Pacers stretched their lead to 10 points, 78-68, in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Jarace Walker at the 8:24 mark and it looked as though the Pacers were poised to break open the game, but the Clippers hung in and pulled to within 86-83 with 2:58 left.
After a tight third quarter, the Pacers slowly pushed their lead to 16 before settling for a 17-point victory, avenging a 151-127 Clippers victory in December on the strength of James Harden’s 35 points, 27 of them coming off nine 3-pointers. This time, Harden was a non-factor, finishing with 11 points and seven assists.
George and Kawhi Leonard each scored 26 points and Norman Powell had 22 points off the bench. Center Ivica Zubac pulled down 11 rebounds to go along with nine points.
The Pacers shot 8 for 15 from 3-point range in the second half, while holding the Clippers to 1 for 9 from behind the arc in the final two quarters.
More to come on this story.