The Clippers beat the Kings (+41) for their fifth straight win

Being a team at the bottom of the table and being the most capable team in the league: yes, it is possible. Modest 13. in the West, the Clippers recorded his fifth win in a row taking the scalp of Kings (131-90) in a match that was already played at halftime.

A demonstration of force that still bore the sign of a Kawhi Leonard in another dimension right now. He was scoring points per minute last night – 33 points (11/19 shooting) in 33 minutes – while playing too easy against opposing defenses.

In addition to him, James Harden (21 points) also showed ease in attacking the circle, while two men managed to show their athletic qualities: John Collins (16 points) and the surprise of the evening, Janić Konan Niederhauser, who had the best outing of the year (16 points).

No rebellion from kings

Novak is undoubtedly a symbol of the almost perfect night signed by the Clippers, who were already 14 points ahead (34-20) after 12 minutes. And they have already shown that their commitment to snatch the balloons lying around was much higher than their opponents.

The impression was confirmed in the second quarter of absolute dominance: 39-20 in favor of the locals, who were too dynamic in attack and disgusting in defense. So much so that at the break the deficit seemed unreal: +33 points (73-40)!

Revolt of visitors? That didn’t happen. The young Kings, starting with Maxime Reynaud (12 points and 12 rebounds) or Nick Clifford (18 points), tried to strengthen their team a little, the lack of spacing (9/27 at 3 points) was too important for the Kings, who failed to take the lead in the Clippers racket, and others were waiting for Brook Lopez.

Doug Christie’s men narrowly won the third quarter, but with such a delay in the first period … The gap could continue to climb after that, with a long “garbage”.

WHAT TO REMEMBER

– How clean! Apart from the collective performance – 29 assists for 46 converted shots – we note the level of cleanliness shown by the Californians: only 4 turnovers on the night (compared to 19 on the Kings’ side)! The result: an irreparable difference in points scored after the “turnover”: 28 to 4 in favor of the Clippers.

– Kawhi Leonard missed the free throw. And it’s a small event this season for the Clippers star, who finished 6/7 at the line. Prior to this match, he had recorded an outstanding 97.6% success rate in this exercise, making it a historic season in this area. In absolute terms, this makes for just four missed shots since the start of the year (129/133)! We remind you that the absolute record is still held by Jose Calderon with the 2008/09 season with 98.1% of free throws.

– Going to a Clippers “play-in”? This five-game winning streak changes the entire dynamic of the Californians, who have so far been running for the title of the biggest collective disappointment of the season. With a record of 11 wins and 21 losses, Tyronn Lue’s men are just 2.5 games behind the Blazers (14w-19d), currently 10th in the West. They have an opportunity to do a very good operation with the reception of Jazz (12v-20d) on New Year’s Day.

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How to read statistics? Min = Minute; Shots = Shots Successful / Shots Attempted; 3 points = 3 points / attempt 3 points; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive jump; T = Total number of jumps; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal mistakes; Int = intercepts; Bp = lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Difference of points when the player is on the field; Points = Points; Rating: player rating calculated based on positive actions – negative actions.