With a six-game winning streak on the line and homecourt advantage in their sights, the Los Angeles Clippers came out against the Milwaukee Bucks Thursday night hoping to make a statement.
Unfortunately, with Lou Williams and Patrick Beverley unavailable, things didn’t quite go the way they wanted.
After an impressive, back and forth first quarter, the Clippers quickly got caught up in the avalanche that is Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks league-leading offense. Fueled by a 21-5 run, the Bucks mounted a massive lead and went into the break up 67-46. The Clippers burst out of the gate in the second half and went on a mini-run to pull within 10, but the Bucks quickly snuffed that out and pushed the lead back to 21 points.
With Antetokounmpo on the bench with an ankle injury, Los Angeles pushed hard once again in the fourth quarter and brought the deficit to within single digits, but it wasn’t enough in the end as the Clippers fell to the Bucks 128-118.
The Clippers drop to 45-31 in the loss but finish 3-1 on their road trip and now head home for a four-game stand and five of six to close out the season. After the Utah Jazz pushed them off their spot with a win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, the Clippers, fortunately, don’t lose any more ground in the standings with the loss. However, with games against the Jazz and Houston Rockets — the two teams just barely ahead of them in the standings — on the horizon, this last stretch of games could prove paramount to the Clippers’ postseason positioning.
Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton led the charge for the Bucks with 34 and 39 points a-piece. Antetokounmpo added nine rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block while Middleton dished in eight rebounds, five assists and a steal of his own.
For the Clippers, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team with 21 points to go along with six rebounds, two assists, a steal and two blocks in the loss. Danilo Gallinari, Ivica Zubac and Landry Shamet scored 14, 10 and 13 respectively. Garrett Temple, starting in place of Beverley, managed zero points on 0-6 shooting, five rebounds, five assists and a steal.
OBSERVATIONS
Hot-Streak Continues for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
March has been quite kind to Gilgeous-Alexander, who has gone on the best stretch of his young career to close out the regular season. In 13 games thus far, the rookie has averaged 14.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.2 steals and has shot 51.1 percent from the floor and 55.2 percent from three-point range.
The Clippers will take that production and laugh all the way to the bank.
With Gilgeous-Alexander, along with much of the team, surging, the Clippers still have a very real chance to push the Rockets — 3 games ahead of them in the standings — for the fourth seed. Even if things don’t break the Clippers’ way, the team has already locked up a postseason spot and sit back and can continue to enjoy the SGA-show.
Lou Williams and Patrick Beverley were Dearly Missed
Outside of the first quarter, the team did not look as it has in recent games. A large part of that could be attributed to the absences of Williams and Beverley.
Without Williams, the bench lacked its usual offensive punch. Meanwhile, the defensive intensity was sorely lacking without Beverley, as evidenced by the multiple open lanes the Bucks found on their way to the basket.
If the Clippers want to go into the postseason and win, they are going to need Williams and Beverley back to 100 percent and soon. Without them, they stand almost no chance at advancing.
No Answer for Giannis Antetokounmpo
Like most teams, Los Angeles just had no answer for Antetokounmpo throughout the night. The Most Valuable Player candidate had another spectacular, hyper-efficient night on the parquet — a regular occurrence at this point.
They made things difficult for the Greek Freak — Gallinari played solid defense when they were matched up and the team forced Antetokounmpo to take 14 free throws — but ultimately it was to no avail. There isn’t a team that has an answer for Antetokounmpo and the Clippers shouldn’t have expected to completely shut him down but, that being said, it is a must that the Clippers up that intensity as they move into the postseason.
QUESTIONS
How Will the Clippers Fair with Lou Williams on the Bench in the Postseason?
The Bucks abused the Clippers in those minutes regularly occupied by Williams, leaving a blueprint for much of the Western Conference to follow in the coming weeks.
With such a young, inexperienced squad, it’s fair to wonder how much they will be able to accomplish while the elder-statesman and likely Sixth Man of the Year is on the bench.
How Big of a Difference can Wilson Chandler Make?
Wilson Chandler had his most impressive showing since the Clippers acquired him back in February. The forward finished with 15 points, two rebounds and an assist of the bench and shot 5-6 from three-point range.
Chandler, the career 34.7 three-point shooter, isn’t going to be lights out like that every game. But the Clippers and their fans should hope he can stretch this performance out; he isn’t Tobias Harris, but if Chandler can knock shots down at a decent enough clip and make defenses think twice about doubling Gallinari or Williams, it could be a major game-changer for the Clippers’ offense as the postseason gets underway.
PREDICTION
Clippers Will Get Back to their Winning Ways
With Williams and Beverley expected back this weekend, expect Los Angeles to get back in the win column and continue their push for home-court advantage in the first round of the postseason with games against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
