The Los Angeles Clippers continue an eight-game road swing on Sunday in Indianapolis, facing the Indiana Pacers in a matchup of teams jockeying for playoff positioning.
Los Angeles stands at sixth place in the Western Conference heading into February’s final week, holding a one-game lead over Minnesota and Dallas following the Clippers’ 116-110 loss on Thursday at Milwaukee.
In their return from the All-Star break, the Clippers got 25 points from Kawhi Leonard, 24 points and eight assists from James Harden, and 20 points with 15 rebounds from Ivica Zubac.
However, with Norman Powell sitting out due to knee soreness, Los Angeles was outscored in the fourth quarter 36-21, squandering a lead of as many as 13 points in the final period. The Clippers’ inability to close out potential victories has been a season-long issue. The setback snapped the three-game winning streak the Clippers took into the break.
Los Angeles fell 119-112 on Feb. 6 in its previous meeting with Indiana. Harden and Powell each scored 22 points in the loss, while Leonard finished with 19, but the Clippers could not overcome Pascal Siakam’s 33-point, 11-rebound effort.
The Los Angeles lineup has undergone considerable change since the previous meeting. The Clippers added Ben Simmons after Brooklyn bought out the former three-time All-Star’s contract.
Simmons made his LA debut with 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a Feb. 13 win at Utah. Bogdan Bogdanovic joined Los Angeles in a deal that sent Bones Hyland and Terance Mann to Atlanta.
“Ben’s pace, the way he gets the ball out quick, gets guys open shots, we need that,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said.
The additions of Simmons and Bogdanovic give the Clippers wing depth behind leading scorer Powell (24.2 points per game), which could be key if Powell remains out for Sunday’s contest.
Indiana is in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, leading Milwaukee by just a half-game after the Bucks went 2-0 in a Thursday-Friday back-to-back against the Clippers and at Washington. The Pacers returned from the break on Thursday, beginning a four-game homestand with a 127-113 defeat of Memphis.
Tyrese Haliburton finished with 22 points and nine assists, Bennedict Mathurin came off the bench for 16 points and Myles Turner complemented a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double with a monster defensive performance, blocking seven shots.
Turner’s return from a three-game absence ahead of the break was a welcome sight for Indiana coach Rick Carlisle. Turner missed matchups with the Los Angeles Lakers, New York and Washington due to a neck injury.
“We had two pretty hard practices to get guys’ lungs opened up and get their conditioning. At the beginning of the game, he was feeling it,” Carlisle said of Turner’s return to action. “Then he got his second wind and a lot of great things started happening. … When he gets a double-double, we’re very, very difficult to beat.”
With Thursday’s win, Indiana improved to 6-3 this season when Turner records a scoring and rebounding double-double. He is averaging 15.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots per game for the campaign.
