“It sucks. » This statement by Steve Ballmer, the owner of the Clippers, before Game 3 is clear, straightforward and probably reflects quite well the reaction of Los Angeles fans after the announcement of Kawhi Leonard’s package for this meeting.
The star, huge in the first two sets in Phoenix, is hampered by a sprained right knee and must forfeit this crucial match. It is therefore difficult to join the prosecution with the same enthusiasm…
“It’s very discouraging,” confirms Tyronn Lue for ESPN. “I especially think of him. He is a player who is coming out of a cruciate ligament rupture, who has not missed a rehabilitation session, who eats well, does everything his body needs. So it’s hard for him, for the work he has done. I feel bad for him. »
Will Kawhi Leonard be in uniform on Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles (9:30 p.m. French time), less than 48 hours after this Game 3? For the moment, nothing is certain yet.
“I feel sorry for him,” continues Russell Westbrook. “He had been playing his best basketball for a while, he was arguably the best player in the world. It sucks for him. But it felt good to have him on the bench, to communicate with us. I hope he will feel better. »
This Los Angeles team has heart and brawn
Diminished, the Clippers did their best and did it well. Their defensive intensity was remarkable at the start of the game, despite too many loose balls, especially those of Russell Westbrook.
They did not hesitate to enter the Suns, but over the game, especially in the second half, with fatigue and fouls, the Clippers dropped a tone. Faced with Kevin Durant and a great Devin Booker (45 points), it does not take more to be sanctioned.
“I liked what we produced. We did some good things.” analyzes the coach for OCR. “I liked our competitive spirit, our fight. Everyone brought. Some whistles were not our way. Sometimes we had trouble rebounding or in our rotations and we made mistakes too quickly. We can’t make mistakes when they are in the bonus. But again, I liked our fight. »
Defeat is obviously the main thing to remember because the Clippers are now down 2-1 and have (re)lost home advantage. But in another sense, Tyronn Lue can be delighted with the performance of his group, which fought until the end despite the absence of Kawhi Leonard. If Torrey Craig does not register his 3-pts with 85 seconds remaining, to restore two possessions to Phoenix, the last moments might have been different…
And what about the match of Norman Powell (42 points, his career record in the playoffs), who brilliantly replaced the MVP of the 2019 Finals in the five major, or those of Bones Hyland (20), or even Terance Mann (10 )?
“We needed a good game from him, with Kawhi absent”, slips Tyronn Lue, referring to the former Toronto player. “Westbrook has gone up a notch, Norman too. Hyland also, off the bench, was very good. We would still need that on Saturday. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Kawhi Leonard | 52 | 33.6 | 51.2 | 41.6 | 87.1 | 1.1 | 5.4 | 6.5 | 3.9 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 23.8 |
| Paul George | 56 | 34.6 | 45.7 | 37.1 | 87.1 | 0.8 | 5.3 | 6.1 | 5.1 | 3.1 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 23.8 |
| Norman Powell | 60 | 26.1 | 47.9 | 39.7 | 81.2 | 0.4 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 17.0 |
| Russell Westbrook | 21 | 30.2 | 48.9 | 35.6 | 65.8 | 1.4 | 3.4 | 4.9 | 7.6 | 3.4 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 15.8 |
| John Wall | 34 | 22.2 | 40.8 | 30.3 | 68.1 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 5.2 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 11.4 |
| Marcus Morris | 65 | 28.1 | 42.6 | 36.4 | 78.2 | 0.4 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 11.2 |
| Eric Gordon | 22 | 24.9 | 46.3 | 42.3 | 84.2 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 11.0 |
| Reggie Jackson | 52 | 25.7 | 41.8 | 35.0 | 92.4 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 3.5 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 1.8 | 10.9 |
| Bones Hyland | 14 | 19.0 | 40.1 | 35.1 | 75.0 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 2.1 | 10.8 |
| Ivica Zubac | 76 | 28.5 | 63.4 | 0.0 | 69.7 | 3.1 | 6.8 | 9.9 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 2.9 | 10.8 |
| Terance Mann | 81 | 23.1 | 51.9 | 38.9 | 78.0 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 3.4 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 8.8 |
| Luke Kennard | 35 | 20.7 | 46.4 | 44.7 | 95.0 | 0.2 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 7.8 |
| mason plumlee | 23 | 19.9 | 72.7 | 0.0 | 77.2 | 1.8 | 5.1 | 6.9 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 2.4 | 7.5 |
| Bj Boston, Jr. | 22 | 11.3 | 41.8 | 41.4 | 76.3 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 6.5 |
| Nicholas Batum | 78 | 21.9 | 42.0 | 39.1 | 70.8 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 6.1 |
| Robert Covington | 48 | 16.2 | 44.5 | 39.7 | 75.0 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 6.0 |
| Moses Brown | 34 | 8.5 | 63.5 | 0.0 | 45.8 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 4.1 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 4.6 |
| Amir Coffey | 50 | 12.5 | 38.6 | 27.5 | 77.8 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 3.4 |
| Jason Preston | 14 | 8.8 | 43.9 | 27.8 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 2.9 |
| Moussa Diabate | 22 | 8.9 | 51.1 | 50.0 | 62.5 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 2.7 |
| Xavier Moon | 4 | 4.9 | 33.3 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.8 |
