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Dorsey Beats Crenshaw in Coliseum League Championship Rivalry

By
Brianne Ingram
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Photo by Brianne Ingram / fi360 News

Penalty flags plagued both teams in this deep-rooted rivalry as the Dorsey Dons (8-2) took home the crown with a 27-6 victory over the Crenshaw Cougars (4-3) in the City Section Coliseum League Championship on Friday night in Los Angeles.

Despite the flags, Dorsey was able to capitalize off of their opponent’s penalties and fumbles.

Photo by Brianne Ingram / fi360 News

Senior running back Harrison Allen bullied his way into the endzone to put Dorsey up 7-0 at the 6:57 mark in the first quarter.

“The kids did a great job,” said Dorsey Head Coach Stafon Johnson. “The coaches did a wonderful job in preparing them and they came out and fought hard. We had a lot of injuries, but they showed the resilience of our football team and showed the next man up mentality.”

It was an unpredictable first quarter to say the least.

Flags were flying everywhere. One after the other.

There were twelve penalties and three fumbles in the first quarter alone.

Photo by Brianne Ingram / fi360 News

Crenshaw’s senior receiver Zion Bennett caught a touchdown reception from sophomore quarterback Donce Lewis as the duo gave their team life 7-6 at the 9:12 mark in the second quarter.

Dorsey ran it in with 1:11 remaining to lead 14-6 going into the second half.

The penalty count was twenty at the halftime break.

In the third quarter, Dorsey sophomore running back Javaun Lewis scored from the 10-yard line at the 9:38 mark to extend the lead to 20-6.

Crenshaw then threw the ball up for a hail mary but it was quickly intercepted by Dorsey.

Photo by Brianne Ingram / fi360 News

Lewis ran in the dagger for Dorsey with 3:39 remaining to go up 27-6 in the fourth quarter.

With 52.9 seconds left, Dorsey senior Denzel Wade picked off a pass to seal the deal.

“Our mindset was just making sure to stay up course,” said Coach Johnson. “I think me being in a lot of big games in my career helped me to let the kids know it’s just another football game. Don’t treat this game any different from any other football game and just play hard. Don’t let the hype be more than what it is. It’s a championship game. It’s a rival game. It’s all these other big things, but you just have to focus on the task at hand.”

Coming into the game, both teams had undefeated records in the Coliseum League, Crenshaw (3-0) and Dorsey (4-0).

Photo by Brianne Ingram / fi360 News

Musical artist 1takejay also performed at the halftime show.

This is the first time since 2017 that both teams have had a winning record.

“We’re going to keep climbing week in and week out and look forward to the playoffs. We’re in a good position to be in a good round in the playoffs, so I’m just excited to see what’s going on next week,” said Coach Johnson.

Photo by Brianne Ingram / fi360 News

The CIF City Section will release its playoff divisions and pairings on Saturday, October 30th.   

Clippers come out flat, lose to Cleveland 92-79

By
Isabel Gonzalez
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Los Angeles, CA – The Los Angeles Clippers couldn’t quite shake off a bad start and had to swallow a 92-79 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

“I thought the flow was nasty for us offensively. I thought we did a lot of overdribbling,” said Clippers head coach Tyronne Lue. “We missed our shots, I thought we were flat just from the start. We didn’t have a lot of energy.” 

Cleveland didn’t have a particularly impressive game, but they did dominate the entire night.

Photo by Jevone Moore

The Cavs had a 23-14 point lead at the end of the first quarter. Completely unsurprising as the Clippers went 4-for-21 from the field and 1-for-11 from three-point range. Only two of the starters, Ivica Zubac and Eric Bledsoe, had made a field goal. Los Angeles registered twice the amount of turnovers in the first period than baskets made.

Not the best start for the Clippers, but they tried to get it together after the break.

As the clock read 8:36 in the third period, a three-pointer by Nicolas Batum cut the deficit to three points. Batum helped Los Angeles make a big push in the right direction. He picked up seven points in the first half, but he turned up the heat and grabbed nine more points less than five minutes into the third quarter.

Reggie Jackson also woke up. Jackson had not scored until the clock had 2:20 left in the first half, and he entered halftime with just two points. However, he made up for it by registering 14 points in the following 12 minutes.

Photo by Jevone Moore

“I was hooping, honestly the ball was moving a lot. I thought that was a benefactor to us, moving our bodies, us moving on defense and ball movement,” Jackson said. “That’s been our key this year and same with last year.”

Someone who did not have a good third period was Paul George, who with 5:10 left in the quarter had picked up four fouls, the same amount of baskets he had made until this point.

The Clippers looked alive after the break, but the fourth quarter still began with a 72-64 lead for Cleveland. 

By the end of the night, their offense left a lot to be desired. Los Angeles shot at 35.6% from the field and 22.0% from beyond the arc. They even struggled from the free throw line shooting at 61.5%. 

Photo by Jevone Moore

“I thought we got some good looks, it was just a flat night for us,” George said. “We all struggled shooting it and so it’s one of those games, man, nobody can score.”

Up next, Los Angeles will head to Portland to take on the Trail Blazers on Friday night. 

Clippers beat Portland 116-86 to grab first win of the season

By
Isabel Gonzalez
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Los Angeles, CA – Third time’s a charm. After two games in which the Los Angeles Clippers couldn’t keep the momentum going, they finally figured it out against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.

A strong first period helped set the tone that helped Los Angeles pick up the 116-86 result at Staples Center. This was the Clippers’ first win of the regular season. 

“I thought we played two good games against Memphis and Golden State. We just couldn’t get over the hump,” Los Angeles head coach Tyronne Lue said. “We just gotta keep building.” 

The game started out close but Los Angeles pulled away in the last four minutes of the first quarter to grab a 31-17 advantage. Unlike the last game, the Clippers were able to hold on to their early lead.

Portland’s CJ McCollum had five points after going 2-for-7 during that period. The Los Angeles defense can’t take all the credit, as a handful of those shots were wide open. However, the offense did outplay the away team as early as that first quarter. As a whole, the Trail Blazers shot at 33.3% from the field during the first 12 minutes. Meanwhile, the Clippers shot at 52%. 

Paul George and Reggie Jackson were leading all scorers with eight points apiece. Luke Kennard followed closely with seven points, but then he decided to take over. 

Kennard picked up the pace in the second quarter to finish the half with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field. Even though both teams scored 25 points in the second period, the Clippers entered the break with a comfortable 56-41 lead.

Los Angeles pushed harder in the third and beat the Trail Blazers 35-19. After that, there wasn’t much Portland could do in the fourth. Terance Mann hit a big three-pointer with 8:50 still remaining in the game as the Clippers reached 100 points and Portland was at 65. Portland head coach Chauncey Billups called a timeout, but the Trail Blazers were already too far behind and Los Angeles wasn’t slowing down. Neither was Kennard. 

The Clippers guard ended the night with 20 points shooting at 80% from the field and 85.7% from beyond the arc. His six three-pointers were a career-tying stat for him.

“Any given night could be anybody’s night. Tonight was Luke Kennard,” Lue said. 

Kennard achieved that coming from the bench. Some of the starters struggled with shooting including, Eric Bledsoe (2-of-8) and Jackson (6-of-20). George, who went off for 41 points last game, only picked up 16 points on Monday going 6-of-16 from the field. However, Lue pointed out that when players don’t score, they can still help out in other ways. 

George registered eight steals on Monday, a career-high.

“He’s been doing it for so long. He’s always been one of the top two way players in the league,” the coach said. 

The Clippers as a whole had 21 steals, which was the most steals since they registered 21 on Nov. 8, 1991 against Denver.

Up next, Los Angeles will host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

Pac-12 Football Performance Awards presented by Nextiva – Week Eight

By
Press Release
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SAN FRANCISCO – The Pac-12 today announced its 2021 football season’s eighth weekly performance awards, presented by Nextiva. See below for Week Eight’s recognitions across the Conference and keep track of the 2021 Offensive Player of the Year watchlist here:

OFFENSE:  B.J. Baylor, RS Jr., RB, Oregon State (Wharton, TX)

  • Second time that Baylor has won this award this season, having won it in Week Four.
  • Ran for his fourth consecutive 100-yard game when he totaled 152 yards and one touchdown in the 42-34 win over Utah.
  • Ran for a 68-yard rush in the second quarter, the longest play from scrimmage by a Beaver this season.
  • Scored his 10th touchdown of the season, eight of which have come at home. His 10 rushing touchdowns lead the Pac-12.
  • Per Pro Football Focus, 119 of his 152 yards came after contact, or 6.26 yards per rush.  Seven of his 19 carries went for a first down.

Also nominated:  Drake London, WR, USC; Anthony Brown, QB, Oregon; Chase Garbers, QB, California; Cameron Rising, QB, Utah; Max Borghi, RB, Washington State; Terrell Bynum, WR, Washington

Check out the 2021 Offensive Player of the Year Watchlist, presented by Nextiva, to learn more. 

DEFENSE & DEFENSIVE LINE:  Kayvon Thibodeaux, So., DE, Oregon (South Central Los Angeles, CA)

  • Only the second time since the Defensive Line award was created in 2019, that a player has won both awards in the same week with Utah’s Bradlee Anae winning both in October 2019.  Its the third time that Thibodeaux has won a Pac-12 weekly award, winning the Defensive Line award once in each of the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
  • A dominant force in Oregon’s 34-31 win at UCLA, setting career-highs with nine tackles (eight solo) and 4.5 tackles for loss while finishing with two sacks and a forced fumble.
  • Recorded a whopping 10 total quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.
  • Earned a stellar 91.2 pass-rush grade from PFF, and was Oregon’s highest-graded player overall at 84.2.
  • First Oregon player with more than four TFLs in a game since Jalen Jelks on Sept. 23, 2017.  First UO player since 2007 and one of just six in the FBS this season to have at least nine tackles, four TFLs and two sacks in a game.
  • Now has 16.0 career sacks and 31.0 TFLs in his career.

Also nominated on Defense:  Avery Roberts, ILB, Oregon State; Elijah Hicks, Safety, California; Mo Diallo, DL, Arizona; Brandon McKinney, Safety, Utah; Jordan Genmark Heath, LB, UCLA; Jahad Woods, LB, Washington State

Also nominated on Defensive Line:  Mo Diallo, DL, Arizona; Keonte Schad, DL, Oregon State; Tuli Letuligasenoa, DT, Washington; JH Tevis, DE, California; Mika Tafua, DE, Utah

SPECIAL TEAMS:  Luke Musgrave, So., TE, Oregon State (Bend, OR)

  • Blocked a punt and then recovered it to score a 27-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter in Oregon State’s 42-34 win over Utah.
  • The blocked punt for touchdown return gave the Beavers the lead for good. OSU scored 14 points later to extend the lead.
  • Utah was punting from its own 37 when Musgrave blocked the punt.
  • The touchdown marked the first of Musgrave’s career, offense, defense or special teams.
  • First time an OSU player has won this award this season.  Two Beavers won this award last season with Champ Flemings and Jesiah Irish both winning in November 2020.

Also nominated:  Dario Longhetto, PK, California; Kyle Ostendorp, P, Arizona; Martell Irby, DB, UCLA; Josh Watts, P, Colorado

OFFENSIVE LINE:  Nous Keobounnam, RS Sr., RG, Oregon State (Portland, OR)

  • Made the start at right guard in the Beavers’ 42-34 win over Utah on Saturday night.
  • Helped the OSU offense to 260 rushing yards. The Beavers have now rushed for 200 or more yards in six consecutive games, OSU’s longest streak since 1993.
  • Made his 23rd all-time start and ninth consecutively.
  • First time he’s won this award and second time an OSU player has won this season.  Nathan Eldridge won it after Week Four.

Also nominated:  T.J. Bass, OL, Oregon; Matthew Cindric, C, California; Josh McCauley, C, Arizona

FRESHMAN:  Noah Sewell, Fr., ILB, Oregon (Malaeimi, American Samoa)

  • Second straight week that Sewell has won this award, first player to win this award in consecutive week’s since Utah’s Ty Jordan won it the final 3 weeks of the 2020 season.
  • Tied for the team lead with nine tackles (six solo) to help lead Oregon to a 34-31 win at UCLA.  Also recorded a tackle for loss and broke up a pass. 
  • Led or tied for the team lead in tackles for the fourth time this year, all coming in the last five games.  Leads the team with 63 tackles on the season, including 51 in the last five games.
  • Earned a solid 82.4 tackling grade by Pro Football Focus.

Also nominated:  Keleki Latu, TE, California

Paul George’s 41 points not enough for Clippers win

By
Isabel Gonzalez
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Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles will have to continue waiting for that first mark on the win column. The Clippers home opener ended in a 120-114 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night.

“Our first unit has to do a better job at setting the tone, having a defensive mindset,” said Clippers head coach Tyronne Lue. “We are not there yet, but it’s coming.”

Although the home team had found a 13-point lead at the beginning of the second quarter, the Grizzlies started creeping in as halftime got closer. Memphis guard De’Anthony Melton made a 23-foot three-pointer with 22 seconds left before the break. It was a one-point game until Reggie Jackson’s buzzer beater made it a slightly bigger lead for the Clippers at 62-59.

The Grizzlies are a young team, but they are talented. They kept the momentum going and tied the game less than two minutes into the third quarter. Memphis eventually took a 16-point lead with four minutes left in that period. 

Lue said the Clippers offense got stagnant for a while, but overall he thinks the team is heading in the right direction. It’s just not quite there yet all the time. 

“I thought we did a good job,” Lue said. “But we have those little four-five minute lulls where we just don’t continue to play the same way we’ve been playing and that hurts us every single time.”

Los Angeles tried to turn it around, but the Grizzlies weren’t really budging and kept finding double-digit leads. Although they didn’t quite pull it off, the Clippers were close to a comeback in the last two minutes of the game. 

The Clippers called a full timeout with 1:17 left, as Memphis led 114-109. The play Lue prepared led to a three-point jumper by Paul George, with Marcus Morris assisting. The Staples Center crowd sounded excited for the possibility of catching up, until Memphis scored again with 50 seconds left. 

George hit a layup, which led to more excitement. But Jaren Jackson made a three-pointer with 17.5 left that forced the Clippers to call another timeout. Once again, George attempted a three-pointer. This one didn’t make it in. 

His team may have lost, but the 6’8 forward had a big night. George picked up a double-double of 41 points and 10 rebounds while going 15-of-25 from the field, as well as hitting five three-pointers. Jackson and Eric Bledsoe also contributed double figures with 17 and 12 points, respectively. 

The Los Angeles offense performed alright, but Memphis had all five scorers in double digits. Ja Morant led the winning team shooting 10-of-19 from the field, registering 28 points and eight assists. 

With Sunday’s result, the Clippers are now starting the season 0-2. They’ll get homecourt advantage again on Monday when they host the Portland Trail Blazers. The game is scheduled for 7:30pm PT.

A Culture Change At UCLA, Even After A Loss

By
Manny Nunez
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Photo by Jevone Moore / fi360 News

Pasadena, CA – What was so important about UCLA and returning to the Rose Bowl to face Oregon was having their contest to have some meaning. That meant in their two road games, they needed to return home scooping up two wins. They did just that.

Photo by Jevone Moore / fi360 News

So, win or lose against the Ducks, the Bruins already drew more than enough attention to show that this team was sticking around. And to be fair, the Bruins showed what they were made of getting ahead two touchdowns early. Slowly, Oregon crawled their way back in and eventually took a lead early in the third. Since then, the Ducks never relinquished and took over for practically the entire second half. There could be a lot of negatives that are drawn from the  34-31 heartbreaking Bruin defeat. The plus side however: this is not a Bruins team that Chip Kelly has drawn up since his first few years at the helm.

“This is an unbelievable resilient bunch,” Kelly said. “We will fight to the end, and we just ended up one play short. We worked hard to get to field goal range at the end, but our guys are learning to make big plays when they need to. There were a bunch of guys that competed, and I am proud of that.”

UCLA got off to a hot start with plenty of consistency. The Bruins offense had a balanced offensive attack that completely caught the Oregon defense off guard within their first two touchdown drives. Dorian-Thompson Robinson, Brittain Brown, and Zach Charbonnet led the way with little spurts of gains on the ground and in the air on their first score. The second came off a blocked punt setting up UCLA 30 yards from the endzone in which they reached on just four plays.

Photo by Jevone Moore / fi360 News

When they needed to maintain ground, the Bruins were unable to keep up. It showed through the second and third quarters with Oregon scoring on four straight drives. UCLA certainly had their opportunities, especially on being able to force a fumble at midfield by DJ Warnell after a completed pass. Driving to the Oregon 30, Thompson-Robinson couldn’t avoid a sack on third down, which then led to a gamble pass to the endzone on fourth down that came away empty handed. That led to an Anthony Brown touchdown of 43 yards heading to the endzone nearly untouched. It was all part of a third quarter where UCLA thought they were working things through but instead only managed seven yards of total offense.

“There were plenty of big opportunities,” “But at the end of the day we need to take care of self inflicted wounds. Tip your hat off to some of the guys for Oregon when they made big plays. We need to clean those up if we need to play as a consistent football team.”

But instead of giving in, UCLA managed to do their part in the final quarter to show some life. UCLA did manage an opportunity to come back and even take a lead when Oregon could have sat on the ball with a commanding lead. Twice Brown elected to pass on second down, once in the endzone on a 24 yard pass. Both instances led to interceptions, with the latter giving UCLA a chance to relinquish their lead with under two minutes left. UCLA though had to do too much, with also putting Thompson Robinson exposed to the Ducks blitz. He had to come out after a hard hit near midfield, putting freshman Ethan Garbers in on the last few plays. Getting the Bruins about 20 yards and converting on a fourth down pass play, DJ James snuck in front of Kyle Phillips took the chance at a comeback away. It proved however that with UCLA giving in midway through the third, a 17 point lead was just too much to overcome.

Photo by Jevone Moore / fi360 News

“What we learned was what we can do to not put ourselves in this situation,” Kelly said. “Our kids were down, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t a lot of positives out of this game, because there certainly were. Our kids kept playing and our kids kept learning from their mistakes.”

While it wasn’t a complete game, the Bruins certainly have a lot to look forward to. They gained some recognition with ESPN taking their College Gameday crew to Pasadena. While Thompson-Robinson did only go 22 for 41 with only a touchdown, his offensive execution at times chugged along smoothly giving Charbonnet and Brown solid carries. They were also 10-for -19 on third down conversions, and their offense managed to get in the red zone six times, scoring five of those instances with only the missed field goal proving costly.

Photo by Jevone Moore / fi360 News

While the chance at making the Rose Bowl game could be out of reach, this does not mean the Bruins season has ended up being a dud. Looking ahead, UCLA has four games remaining, with their strongest opponent coming next week against Utah on the road. They would then stay in the Los Angeles area the rest of November taking on Colorado and Cal at home, and then on the road against a USC team that has faced adversity most of this year. Finishing the season with eight wins and a high bowl mark could create a beginning of a turnaround for a Chip Kelly program that has struggled to find solid ground since he has taken over.

“We have a tall task to get ready for Utah next week,” Kelly said. “We have to be ready.”

There is much to look forward for Bruin nation, and many people must not step off the bandwagon just yet.

Penn State drops the ball after 9 OT with Illinois

By
Patrick Blain
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Photos by Patrick Blain / fi360 News

Centre County, PA – Illinois outlasts #7 Penn State on the road 20-18 in the first ever 9 overtime contest in NCAA history. The Illini pounded out 357 yards on the ground which propelled Bret Bielema’s squad regularly throughout a soggy afternoon.

Additionally, Illini defense held the Nittany Lions offense to a minimum in Beaver Stadium. Entering the game, Penn State had previously averaged 396.7 yards on 21 total touchdowns. On the afternoon, James Franklin’s squad only mustered 18 points on 227 total yards of offense.

Photos by Patrick Blain / fi360 News

“We did not have our guys ready to play,” Franklin said after the game. “I think there was a difference between playing Iowa on the road and having that type of loss with the type of injuries we had going into our bye week. But at the end of the day, all that matters is we get the job done, and we did not today.”

To add to the misery for Penn State, quarterback Sean Clifford’s health remains a mystery as he clearly struggled to find any momentum leading the Nittany Lions. He also took a late hit in the first half against Illinois which was highlighted during post game interviews. Keep in mind Clifford was forced to leave the game at Iowa during the Lion’s 23-20 loss with an undisclosed injury. On Saturday, Clifford was held to 165 yards and a touchdown.

Photos by Patrick Blain / fi360 News

“It’s tough but leadership doesn’t come easy,” Jesse Luketa said. “You have to do the stuff, the uncommon things, that everyone else doesn’t want to do, the uncomfortable things. I try to put my personal emotions aside and think for the greater benefit of the team.”

Penn State has to look at themselves internally and get this team on track on both sides of the football. Even with Franklin taking the blame for not having his team ready, the leaders are going to be reason Penn State bounces back.

Photos by Patrick Blain / fi360 News

Penn State will travel next week to play Ohio State on Oct 30th at 7:30pm est. While Illinois will host Rutgers at high noon on Oct 30th.

Lincoln Defeats Franklin in CIF LA City Northern League Championship Rivalry

By
Brianne Ingram
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Photos by Brianne Ingram / fi360 News

Two of the top ten CIF Los Angeles City teams, the Lincoln Tigers (9-0) and the Franklin Panthers (7-2), squared off on Friday night for the Northern League championship ending in Lincoln going home with the victory 52-34 in their East LA rivalry.

Lincoln Head Coach Gabriel Cotero shared how it felt to earn this win.

Photos by Brianne Ingram / fi360 News

“It feels relieving. It was a rough week. We worked hard to put this game together. It’s not only the product on the field, it’s everything that goes around. But it feels very satisfying. This school needs it. We played a very, very tough team over there. The coach over there [Franklin’s head coach] I’ve known him since he was a little kid. I was his teacher at Irving Middle School. We talk on the phone and all that stuff. Before the game we were just talking and having fun. But overall, it just feels so good.”

Lincoln struck first as senior quarterback Ivan Plancarte drove for a 30-yard touchdown at the 9:46 mark in the first quarter, 6-0.

Photos by Brianne Ingram / fi360 News

In the blink of an eye, Lincoln junior Tyler Rosales leaped for a pick six at the 7:26 mark to make his team go up 20-0.

But Franklin wouldn’t be silenced for long.

Money man Hector Ceballos scored a 5-yard reception to put his team on the board, 20-7.

“Hats off to Lincoln,” said Franklin Head Coach Narciso Diaz. “It’s a good team. They played well. They deserve it. I can’t complain about our team’s effort. We went down 20-0. Then we just kept battling back, battling back. But I’m proud of our kids and we have one more game left.”

Photos by Brianne Ingram / fi360 News

Lincoln’s star senior running back Andre Watkins was in the zone.

Plancarte handed the ball off to Watkins to score and lead at the end of the first period, 28-7.

Coach Cotero commented on the impact of Plancarte and Watkins as his team’s dynamic duo.

“Those two guys have been performing for us just like they did today. They pick everything up. They study the plays well. And it shows on the field. I also like their leadership. Ivan of course is a little fiery but he lays it all out. And Andre has been doing the same thing for 4 years with us. He ran for over 2,000 yards for his sophomore season. It’s because of them that we’re here. They carried us throughout the season, and they’re still carrying us right now, and they’re going to carry us through the postseason too.”

Watkins then dashed for a 44-yard run in the second quarter to extend the lead, 42-14.

He went down with 3:57 minutes remaining in the second period. He started limping on his right leg, but was able to walk off the field on his own.

Lincoln led at the half, 42-20.

Photos by Brianne Ingram / fi360 News

Watkins returned to action in the third quarter. Franklin struggled to catch him as he sprinted to the house at the 5:09 mark to put his team up, 49-26.

Franklin tried to creep up to come as close as 49-34 in the final quarter, but Lincoln was able to close it out.

“I just have a lot of fun with these kids all day, all week, every time of the year, and to see them happy is my greatest satisfaction,” said Coach Cotero.

The Los Angeles Rams were also in the house as some of the administrative staff and the team mascot made appearances.

Photos by Brianne Ingram / fi360 News

Lincoln is currently on a 13-game winning streak and will go for 10-0 next week against Torres.

“We can’t take them lightly,” said Coach Cotero. “So, we just got to go in there and watch film and get the game plan ready. We’re out here having fun and the kids are out here performing for us. I just want to see exactly what I saw tonight against Torres next week and we’ll be fine. We need the momentum to take us into the playoffs.”

The Lincoln Tigers go on the road against the Torres Toros next Friday, October 29th at 7 pm.

Clippers erase 19-point deficit, still fall to Golden State

By
Isabel Gonzalez
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LOS ANGELES, CA - Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala #9 directs traffic during the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Jevone Moore)

A game that started with a dominating Golden State lead turned into a nail-biting showdown in the last two minutes. But no matter how entertaining the game was, the Los Angeles Clippers still opened the regular season 0-1.

Los Angeles had to settle for a 113-115 loss at Chase Center on Thursday night. 

Steph Curry, who was named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team earlier that day, opened the night by going 10-of-10 from the field. He had a 25-point first quarter by shooting 100% from the field and 100% from beyond the arc.

Guarding Curry is no small task, as Clippers forward Paul George noted during the postgame press conference. 

“I think you just have to know where he is at. He’s so good. He’s just the complete package offensively,” George said. “He’s mastered how to get free without dribbling the ball. He’s just so elusive and quick. One second you look away and he’s gone.”

The Warriors found a 19-point advantage in the second quarter, but George was determined to turn things around. He spearheaded a strong comeback and helped the Clippers find their first lead of the night with just 22 seconds left in the period. Los Angeles entered halftime with a 67-66 lead after an impressive 25-5 run. 

George registered 22 points by going 9-of-13 from the field and 4-for-6 from 3-point range in that half. Eric Bledsoe and Ivica Zubac also contributed with double digits. Bledsoe got 15 points shooting at 77.8% from the field, while Zuback picked up 10 points with 75.0% shooting. 

“All the way back to last year, our team just finds ways to try to win games,” Clippers head coach Tyronne Lue said when asked about that first half comeback. “No matter what combination we put on the floor, those guys compete, they play hard, and just try to find ways.”

Golden State tried to get away during the third quarter, but the Clippers one again fought back and finished that period on a 9-2 run, as well as a 93-90 lead. 

And then came the final quarter. 

Curry hit a huge three-pointer with 1:50 remaining. Bledsoe responded with a layup to put Los Angeles up 109-108, but Curry hit another big shot with 57 seconds left. 

Draymond Green extended the Warriors’ lead to 113-109 with a layup with 11.6 seconds on the clock. George hit a pull-up 3 to give the Clippers hope with 5 seconds remaining. The game came down to free throws. Curry made two from the charity line and Zubac made one, while purposely missing the second one in hopes for a rebound and a chance to go into overtime. 

Unsurprisingly, Curry finished the night leading all scorers with 45 points. He went 16-of-25 from the field, with half of those successful shots being three-pointers. Three other Warriors finished in double digits. Meanwhile, Los Angeles had six players record double figures, with George as the leader with 29 points on 12-of-23 shooting.

Box score.

The Clippers will try to grab their first win of the season on Saturday Oct. 23 when they host the Memphis Grizzlies at Staples Center.

Clippers get ready to tip off against Golden State Warriors

By
Isabel Gonzalez
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Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard looking to score during the Dallas Mavs. (Courtesy photo Nick White)

The Los Angeles Clippers will be challenged right away as they enter the 2021-22 season with a game against the Golden State Warriors on the road.

Although the Warriors lack size, that didn’t stop them from going 5-0 in preseason or from taking a 121-114 win against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on Tuesday. 

Their pace and constant movement did not go unnoticed by Clippers forward Paul George. 

“They move the ball. It’s scary,” George said after Wednesday’s practice. “We just have to be ready for their ball movement. I thought the Lakers played them well, put bodies on them, forced them to make plays at the rim. That’s how we are going to have to try to approach it.”

Steph Curry shot at 23.8% from the field and 25.0% from beyond the arc. The Golden State guard also turned the ball over four times. In his own words, he “played like trash.” Curry’s percentages on the stat sheet left a lot to be desired, but he still led his team’s offense with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. This was Curry’s first triple-double since 2016. 

He won’t be the only player the Clippers need to worry about. Jordan Poole showed he can be a difference-maker and helped the Warriors with 20 points, 16 of those in the second half. Four other Warriors also scored in double digits. 

Los Angeles head coach Tyronn Lue pointed out another very obvious strength for the Warriors: their three-point shooting. 

The Warriors averaged 38.7 three-point attempts last season. Their preseason’s average was higher, shooting 53.2 three-pointers per game.

“We know they are going to attack, we know they are going to shoot threes, but we just have to eliminate the easy baskets,” Lue said. 

Golden State missed out on the playoffs last season. Meanwhile, the Clippers made it to the Western Conference Finals series. Unfortunately for them, that momentum hasn’t been easy to keep going. 

Los Angeles went 1-3 during preseason and is still looking for consistency. As Lue mentioned after his team’s 128-100 preseason loss to Minnesota, transition defense and better ball movement are two areas that could use improvement.

Finding the right rhythm is difficult, especially with some key players missing. On Tuesday, Lue confirmed that Serge Ibaka will be out for the season opener (back injury from last season). 

There is also still not a definite date for when Kawhi Leonard will be back. The spotlight is on George who, although has struggled with inconsistency in his own game, feels confident he can be a leader while his co-star returns. 

Along with Leonard, Nicolas Batum will be missing for this first game due to personal reasons. Serge Ibaka, Keon Johnson and Jason Preston will not be available for the opener.

George didn’t play at the beginning of his first season with the Clippers, which meant Leonard had to take over. Now, George said, the roles are flipped.

“I’m starting without him this year so I gained a little bit off of what I saw,” George said. “He led the team when I was out, kept us competitive, kept us in it. Now it’s essentially my turn to lead the team and keep us afloat, keep us going.”

The Clippers/Warriors game is scheduled for 7pm PT on Thursday and will be available on TNT.

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