PHOENIX (AP) – Los Angeles coach Tyronn Lue was still stewing a little in the postgame press conference, replaying in his head how the Clippers’ offence got a little stagnant during the final eight minutes against Phoenix yesterday.
The good news for the Clippers is the first 40 minutes were so good it didn’t really matter.
Paul George scored 33 points, Kawhi Leonard added 30 and the Clippers extended their winning streak to four straight by beating the Suns 131-122. Los Angeles has won 13 of 15 while Phoenix had its four-game winning streak snapped.
George shot eight of 14 from the field, going five of 10 from three-point range. James Harden had 22 points and 11 assists.
The Clippers shot 55 per cent from the field and 53 per cent from three-point range – efficient numbers all around. Harden said he expects that will be the norm as he continues to adapt to his new team after being traded from Philadelphia on October 31.
“We still haven’t figured it out, because different teams guard us differently,” Harden said.
“Once we’ve seen every defence, which probably won’t be until the end of the year, we’ll figure out how to attack.”
Los Angeles appears to be a quick study with an 18-5 record after starting the season 3-7.
“It’s just making the right pass and making the right play – that’s what we’ve got to be good at,” Lue said. “We want teams to double team us with all the shooting we have, but we just didn’t handle it the right way.”
