LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Clippers used a 40-point fourth quarter finishing kick to outlast the pesky Charlotte Hornets, 113-115, on Tuesday at the Crypto.com Arena.
It was truly a game of runs. The Hornets cut the Clippers’ lead to only five points to end the first half, 55-50. The Clippers retaliated with a 20-15 bomb to push the advantage back to double digits in the third quarter.
Amazingly, the Hornets went on a 26-9 run to regain the upperhand — 91-84 — time down to 9:29 in the fourth quarter.
The well ran dry for the Hornets as Los Angeles responded with a 19-2 seige to take a 103-93 bubble with four minutes left to play. The Clippers would comfortably hold this lead through the end of the game.
Los Angeles played without Kawhi Leonard due to a left hip contusion. Paul George picked up the slack with 25 points. Ivica Zubac notched 18 points with 14 rebounds while Russell Westbrook came off the bench and added 14 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists.
“Obviously (Leonard) is a big piece but we have structure within our defense and offense that we can plug guys in and they are required and expected to do what Kawhi does,” George said. “It’s a collective for us to take on the load without Kawhi being in there, but within our team there (is the) structure.”
Charlotte also missed their star player LaMelo Ball, who has not played since November 26 due to an ankle injury. Miles Bridges scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Terry Rozier and P.J. Washington both scored 18 each. Nick Richards contributed with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Despite the loss, P.J. Washington believed there were some positives. “We had a lot of mistakes toward the end of the fourth quarter which led to our loss, obviously, but for the most part, we played a great game,” he said. “We played a great third quarter. Obviously we have a lot to work on, but we did a better job than before.”
This is Charlotte’s eighth loss in a row. They will try to end the drought in their next game at the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.
