The Los Angeles Clippers saw their seven-game winning streak end on Sunday with a tough loss against the Chicago Bulls.
They looked to bounce back and did exactly that, behind Paul George recording 34 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals, enabling the Clippers to beat the San Antonio Spurs 106-92 on Tuesday night at Staples Center.
George converted 12 of 13 free throws to go along with his impressive well-rounded performance, leading Los Angeles to their eighth win in nine games.
“We needed every bit of it,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said of George. “He was huge for us.”
Reggie Jackson scored 21 points, making five three-pointers, while Clippers (9-5) second round pick Brandon Boston Jr. played 20 minutes and recorded a career-high 13 points after having no idea he would see the floor after playing only 13 minutes all season.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do, so the defense doesn’t know what I’m going to do,” said Boston, who made 4 of 7 shots and recorded four rebounds and a steal. “It feels good, and it’s really easy. Everyone was looking to give me my opportunity.”
Los Angeles made 12 three-pointers on the night compared to San Antonio only making five. The Clippers also outrebounded the Spurs 52-40 and scored 24 points off of their 16 turnovers.
Dejounte Murray led the Spurs by nearly recording a triple-double, leading the Spurs with 26 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. Derrick White added 19 points, while Keldon Johnson and Thad Young added 10 apiece.
The Spurs dropped their third consecutive game and fell to 4-10 on the season.
“The effort is there. They are growing, doing little things better all the time,” Spurs coach Greg Popovich said. “Frustrating to lose, but when a team is working that hard and willing to learn it’s enjoyable as hell even in a loss.”
Young tied the game at 69-69 midway in the third quarter, but the Clippers ended the period on a 14-2 run and broke the game open even further in the next period.
Boston Jr. scored six points to start the fourth for Los Angeles and Jackson hit consecutive three-pointers moments later, only before George made a lay-up to give the Clippers a commanding 99-82 with 3:22 remaining.
“I love the kid,” George said on the Clippers rookie second round pick. “He gives us energy and we need that.”
“I’m the youngest so I got to bring energy to these guys,” Boston Jr. said.
Around game time, news had unexpectedly broken that Staples Center will officially be changing its name to the Crypto.com Arena. The change is reportedly expected to take effect on December 25, when the Los Angeles Lakers host the Brooklyn Nets.
The Clippers are set to open their new groundbreaking arena in Inglewood by the 2024-25 season.
“It’ll be weird. I grew up with Staples Center being the place to play… It’s kind of stripping history here… Good thing we won’t be here too long,” George said on the change.
The Clippers will next start a two-game road trip, first facing the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday and the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. Both games are scheduled for tip-off at 5:00 p.m.
