OCEANSIDE, Calif. – For those who say San Diego is not a basketball town, tell them to look no further than the stands of Frontwave Arena, where most seats were filled as the San Diego Clippers (1-0) beat the Rip City Remix (0-1) on Friday night, 122-107.
Head coach Paul Hewitt, in his third season with the Clippers, rolled out an opening night lineup of Trentyn Flowers, Tosan Evbuomwan, Braxton Key, Cam Christie, and RayJ Dennis.
The Clips’ had seven players in double figures. “This team is going to pass the basketball. It is one thing we’re going to get them to do, and they’ve really bought into the idea of moving the ball and taking good shots,” said Hewitt.
Flowers, who shared a team-high 20 points with Elijah Harkless, said “I gotta show people things they didn’t know I had in my game. I’ve also been working on my jumpshot, so to be able to knock down a few, it feels pretty good.”
It was the first night for everyone; the fans, players, coaches, even the arena itself. Pregame, a tribute video was shown to honor the late Bill Walton – NBA legend and former Clippers forward.
It was also unveiled that the court would be named after the late great, forever encapsulating his legacy in San Diego.
“The energy was amazing, when you have a fanbase that comes out and supports you, you know something great is going to happen,” said Flowers.
Hewitt noted, “Glad we could honor Bill Walton, it was a great gesture, putting his name on the court was well deserved. All-in-all, a tremendous night.”
San Diego came out rusty to start the first half, where they ended the first quarter down 30-19. While they were able to match the Remix’s scoring output, they couldn’t cut into the deficit and went into halftime still down 11, losing 62-51.
James Bouknight, former lottery pick in 2021, finished the game with 25 points for the Remix. Taze Moore led for Rip City with 28 points of his own.
Kai Jones, while listed on the San Diego roster, did not play due to being with the Clippers main squad up in Sacramento.
Something flipped in the second half for San Diego. A Dennis 3 pointer brought them within single digits deficit, and then a consecutive layup by Evbuowman forced Rip City to call timeout, only leading 72-65 with just over 6 and a half minutes left in the third.
The San Diego atmosphere was loving the team’s effort, after the Remix airballed two straight 3 pointers, then offensively drawing a foul on the other end, cutting Rip City’s lead smaller and smaller.
It was clear the momentum shifted in San Diego’s favor, cutting the deficit and heading into the fourth tied 82-82.
The third quarter surge was successful, the Clips’ won 31-20. From then on it was in the hands of San Diego entirely, who set the tone with a quick 8-0 run, and defensively stopped anything Rip City tried to do.
San Diego ended the game with a 40-25 run, 71-45 overall in the second half.
“I think we're a really selfless team. It works well, it suits us. We love to move the ball and we trust each other. I'm really blessed to be part of a good group like this,” said Evbuomwan. He finished with a near double-double, putting up 18 points (on 7 for 11 shooting) and 9 rebounds.
Hewitt said of the team’s cohesiveness, “You saw it in training camp. Guys were lifting each other up when they were sore or banged up, but they fought through it. I think it galvanized (the team) even more. (They all) bring very good character to our locker room.”
The Clippers with the win, look ahead to Sunday, where they rematch against the Remix, again at Frontwave Arena. The first 16 games of the NBA G League season are a part of their Tip-Off Tournament, where teams will eventually compete for the Tournament Championship at the Winter Showcase, in December.