OCEANSIDE, Calif. – The San Diego Clippers (3-3) and the Texas Legends (2-4) faced off on Thursday, with the Clippers losing 99-86 at Frontwave Arena Thursday night.
Three of the Clippers two-way players, Kai Jones, Kobe Brown, and Jordan Miller as well, were all on the roster, and played significant minutes in the matchup.
Miller is the most interesting to note due to developing into a role with the varsity team up north, but was called down for this game. Halfway through the second quarter, Miller went down with an apparent injury. He was grabbing at his left leg and had to be helped off the floor. After several minutes of stretching it out on the sideline, he was escorted back to the locker room and didn’t return for the rest of the game. The team had no official comment postgame on his status.
The starting lineup for head coach Paul Hewitt’s squad consisted of Jordan Lathon, Cam Christie, Miller, Jones, and Brown.
A developing pattern with this new lineup due to the departure of a few key players, it is evident Christie has been given the green light as a scoring option.
He said, “We lost three guys, we lost like 45 shots, like 40 points a game, we lost a lot of offensive production. I had been getting used to the system, but they left and I saw it as an opportunity to step into the forefront, step into that leadership role.”
“I have a much higher usage rate (now) so just kinda getting used to that,” Christie continued.
Jones got right to work for San Diego, with a few monstrous dunks. The Clips’ got off to an early 9-4 lead.
The momentum continued for the team, ending the quarter on a run, with scoring that came from a balanced attack from the Clippers’ starters. Headed into the second, San Diego led 28-20.
Halfway through the second, where the Clippers held a 36-32 lead, Texas fought back, going on a 7-0 run to take the lead. It didn’t help San Diego that they were losing the turnover battle through that point, 10-6.
For the last five minutes of the half, both teams struggled to score, which benefited the Legends. Heading into the second half San Diego was down 48-42.
San Diego was still losing the turnover battle, virtually tied with Texas in rebounds (24 to 25) but it was the team’s 3 point shooting percentage that was clearly not keeping them around. In the first half they shot 2 for 19 (10.5%) versus the Legends who went 8 for 25 (32%). A 6 point deficit was more of a blessing than a curse
Three minutes into the third, San Diego was still in a 50-55 deficit. They called a timeout to talk things over, clearly the momentum belonging to the Legends.
Back-to-back 3 pointers by the Legends without a San Diego bucket in between possessions required another timeout. The Clippers looked lost halfway through the third.
Legend guard Jarod Lucas, absolutely erupted in the third as well. He had 21 points, and hit three of his seven 3 pointers through that point. That put San Diego in an 18 point loss, down 71-53.
After a disastrous 12 minutes, San Diego went into the final frame down 73-55. They were outscored by Texas 25-13.
Unfortunately, the bleeding didn’t stop there. It only took 6 minutes in the fourth for the Legends to bloom their lead up to 24 points, 90-66.
“It was just a rough game. Slow start from the beginning. Last game we had a slow start and it kind of carried over into tonight,” said Christie postgame.
While the Clippers attempted a valiant comeback, going on a 20-9 run, it just wasn’t enough to pull through. The buzzer sounded and San Diego lost, 99-86.
“We just gotta get back to the drawing board and go from there,” noted Christie.
Brown led for the Clips’ with 21 points on 8-15 field goals. Christie finished with 16 points of his own.
“(The coaching staff) has emphasized they want me to be aggressive, shoot the ball, and find my shot. The ‘G’ is all about development, so it’s just watching film and finding things I can work on,” said Christie.
Lucas led the way for Texas with 24 points.
There won’t be much of a delay for either team, as they rematch the next day on a back-to-back. The game will be played at Frontwave Arena, with tip-off at 7 p.m. PT.