LA Clippers defeat the Philadelphia 76’ers at Staples-March 2020
The LA Clippers were at full strength while the Philadelphia 76’ers came in short-handed so it seemed to be a mismatch. Ben Simmons was out with a back injury and Joel Embiid recentely hurt his shoulder and will miss the road trip. Veterans Tobias Harris 24 poins (ex-Clipper) and Al Horford- 12 points and great defense helped second year guard Shake Milton keep it close . Milton had a career high 39 points going 14-20 from the field including 7-9 from 3 point range.
The Clippers took control late and held on for a 136-130 win behind Leonard’s 30 points and 24 points each from George, Williams and Harrell. The home team hung in their despite falling behind by double figures early and knew they had the man-power to comeback.
The Clippers seem to be coming into their own as the playoffs approach and they are healthy now. Plus recent additions of Marcus Morris and Reggie Jackson have made them even deeper. Doc Rivers was happy with their offense but they need to gel better on defense especially with all their great 2 way players. LA is 10 deep now and seem not to have too many weaknesses so they will be tough to beat in any series if they stay healthy.
The Western Conference is full of great teams but the LA teams are the favorites to face each other to go to the Finals. March 8th is the next matchup for the Clippers home game vs The Lakers for a day time ABC game. The Clippers are 2-0 this year and the last game was postponed due to the death of Kobe Bryant. More at www.nba.com/clippers