INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- It was one of those nights for the Clippers, as the Chicago Bulls, hungry for a win, got the best of the team that just beat the Lakers on Sunday night.
Zach Lavine was sensational, as he has been all year for the Bulls, scoring 35 points on 11/21 shooting.
Zach LaVine with the DAGGER.@CHSN__ | @ZachLaVine pic.twitter.com/Eq2NT7ATmG
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 21, 2025
The Clippers were without Ivica Zubac due to a corneal abrasion to his eye and Kawhi Leonard due to managing his knee. Without the firepower that those two bring on both ends of the floor, the Clippers were essentially playing catchup for a majority of the game.
The second quarter was where the Clippers got that burst of energy and bolted into the lead after being down for a majority of the first quarter.
But as their legs grew even more tired and as the minutes started to pile up, it was the Bulls that came back in the second half, took the lead, and never looked back from there.
After having three Clippers score over 20 in Sunday night’s game against the Lakers, Norm Powell was the only one to reach that mark on Monday night. Powell had 27 of his own but both he and James Harden had very inefficient nights, going 9-22 and 5-17 respectively.
Norman Powell won the race from the jump 💨 pic.twitter.com/XMHFvhyuJg
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) January 21, 2025
After such high emotion and intensity against the Lakers, it was clear there were tired legs, while the Bulls, coming off of a losing streak, needed a win, and went all out for one.
With another back-to-back coming starting Wednesday to make it four games in five nights, it is imperative for the Clippers to get some rest, hope for the best with Zubac’s eye injury, and compete with the Boston Celtics at full strength on Wednesday.
Tipoff is set for 7:30 PM PST in one of the matchups of the year at Intuit Dome.