Sunday’s showdown between the Philadelphia 76ers and visiting Los Angeles Clippers is not going to materialize in the way Paul George had hoped.
After five seasons with the Clippers, George signed a four-year, $212 million deal with the Sixers in the offseason. However, the team has won only three times in its first 15 games with stars Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and George all missing significant time due to injuries.
Embiid continues to nurse a knee injury and will miss this matchup, while George (hyperextended knee) will not be available to face his former team.
Meanwhile, the Clippers have been up-and-down this season while playing the entire campaign without two-way standout Kawhi Leonard (knee).
Los Angeles opened the season 2-1 before losing three in a row. The team then won four straight, then lost three consecutive games and now has won four straight entering Sunday’s opener of a four-game road trip.
The Clippers announced over the weekend that Leonard would miss the entire trip, which puts more pressure on former Sixers guard James Harden, who is averaging 20.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and a team-high 8.8 assists.
Norman Powell is the Clippers’ leading scorer at 23.3 points per game. He will miss his third consecutive game with a hamstring issue.
The Clippers won twice at home without Powell, including Friday’s 104-88 triumph over the Sacramento Kings. Harden had 22 points to lead the way in that contest, while Ivica Zubac notched 10 points and 15 rebounds.
“All games are meaningful for us,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said after the win in NBA Cup play. “Playing for the Cup and having a chance to go to Vegas to play for the big money is always intriguing as well. But we got to play the same way every night, whether it’s the Cup, whatever we are doing, being short-handed.”
After committing 22 turnovers in the victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, the Clippers committed just 12 turnovers against the Kings.
“We’ve just got to take care of the basketball,” Lue said.
That will be particularly important Sunday against a Philadelphia squad that forced 19 turnovers in Friday’s 113-98 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. On the offensive end, rookie Jared McCain and All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey combined for 56 points as the Sixers snapped a five-game slide.
“I ain’t gonna lie, it felt good to win,” Maxey said after shooting 11-of-17 for 26 points. “I’m not going to sit here and talk about making shots. We played so hard, offensively and defensively, (and) played together. Guys stuck together.”
McCain was caught on camera in the fourth quarter saying, “I’m Rookie of the Year.” The guard finished with 30 points — his seventh straight game with at least 20 points.
“It’s one of my goals for the season, obviously,” McCain said, “but it was just that competitiveness coming out of me. I respect every other rookie in this league, but obviously I’m a believer in myself and so, yeah, some words definitely came out at that point.”
The teams met Nov. 6 in Los Angeles, where the Clippers posted a comfortable 110-98 victory behind 26 points from Powell.
