OCEANSIDE, Calif. – On the second night of a back-to-back the San Diego Clippers (4-3) and the Texas Legends (2-5) ran it back, this time San Diego winning 105-89 at Frontwave Arena Friday night.
“A lot better than last night,” said head coach Paul Hewitt. “This was the third straight game we’ve held our opponents under 100 points. We’ll get the halfcourt offense smoothed out, but it’s going to take some time.”
Two-way players Kobe Brown and Kai Jones were once again active tonight for San Diego. Jordan Miller was inactive, but on the bench with the team. His injury was listed as right hip soreness.
Hewitt noted, “We run pretty much the same system (as the LA Clippers), so it’s a seamless transition (when the two-way players come down).”
Texas got off to a 6-0 start, but Jones was able to lift the Clippers up with 5 points of his own, combined with a Cam Christie 3 pointer to take the lead at 8-6. It was an 11-0 and the Legends had to call timeout.
By the time Texas scored again it was 16-8 San Diego, with 6 minutes left in the first.
The Clippers continued their momentum, blowing the lead into double-digits. After the end of the first, they led over Texas 34-16. Garrett Denbow, who has struggled to get minutes this season for San Diego, had 7 points in the quarter on 100% field goals.
A monstrous dunk by Brown 4 minutes into the quarter got the crowd on its feet, the Clips’ still maintaining a 42-30 lead.
As the second started to dwindle, so did the offense. Luckily, it was on both ends so neither team went on a major run. The end of the first half saw San Diego with a 57-43 lead.
“We just had to play more efficiently offensively. We were much more organized (tonight),” said Hewitt.
It seemed the key to the first half, and typically most of San Diego’s games, is the 3 point shooting – that is today’s NBA (or G League for that matter). The Clippers held Texas to just over 22% from beyond the arc while shooting over 47% on their own.
The start of the third quarter was a 9-0 run by San Diego to regain a dominant lead.
The Clippers were playing solid defense, not allowing the Legends to really come back. They were also matching most buckets Texas gave them, and so with under 4 minutes left in the third San Diego retained a 73-55 lead.
Matched they did, as the score headed into the fourth was 84-67 in favor of San Diego.
It was a low scoring start to the final frame, with San Diego on a 10-8 run, but considering they had the lead, that’s all that mattered.
Braxton Key got his double-double, he finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The game felt like a flip-flop of the first, with San Diego having a double-digit lead, and the Legends failing to make a comeback.
A dunk late in the quarter by Trentyn Flowers was really the statement bucket by the Clippers. He had a quiet but productive night, finishing with 18 points and 8 rebounds.
“My role is to just make an impact. One of the biggest things we’ve been talking about is on ball defense. Even if it doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, just doing the little things,” said Flowers.
Unlike last game, San Diego was able to walk away with a win this time, 105-89.
Brown finished with a game-high 22 points, he also had 8 rebounds.
San Diego shot 46% from the field, and 40% from the 3 point line. They held Texas to under 33% on field goals, and under 25% from beyond the arc. A solid game on both ends, something they’ll want to continue with on the road.
Their next matchup will be against the Oklahoma City Blue, on January 14. The game will be played at Paycom Center, and tip-off will be at 5 p.m. PT.