![]() Kennard did most of his damage in the tone-setting first half, draining his first five shots, and finished the first half with 17 points in 17 minutes on 6-for-7 shooting, including 4 for 5 from deep. He came off the bench and got so hot, Lue couldn’t take him off the floor, playing him 16½ consecutive minutes. He obliged against Portland, firing at will – and on target. The Clippers have drilled it into his conscience (and, likely, his subconscious) that he needs to shoot at every conceivable opportunity. The left-handed former Duke standout seemed to think he was in sunny San Diego on Monday, dominating like it was a training camp golf tournament or a fishing trip with his teammates. So everyone just kind of fed off his defense in the starting lineup.”Īnd when Kennard got cooking, it fueled the Clippers’ offense, which recorded 37 assists (on 44 field goals) – the most since their 41 in Jan. “Just his activity and his length and his athleticism really gave those guys some trouble. “Nico did a good job, he had a lot to do with that,” Lue said. In addition to a certain desire to avoid an 0-3 start to the season, Lue credited Nicolas Batum – inserted into the starting lineup for Marcus Morris Sr., who was out conditioning a sore knee – for helping to kickstart the defense. Twenty-one of the Blazers’ turnovers were the result of steals – of which the Clippers finished with 21, the second-most in franchise history. It was the first time a Portland team had turned it over so many times since they had 30 giveaways in a 120-116 loss to the Knicks in 1989. It’s just the eighth time since 1983-84 that the Clippers forced at least 30 turnovers and the most since they caused 32 in 1996 against the New York Knicks. “It’s tough to compete in a game when you have 30 turnovers.” They were desperate to get a win … but from the very first play of the game, we turned the ball over, we couldn’t get the ball where we needed to go. “They hadn’t won a game yet, two tough losses. ![]() “We talked in the locker room about the Clippers,” Billups told reporters in his team’s interview room. ![]() It also was Tyronn Lue’s first coaching matchup against his friend Chauncy Billups, though that didn’t compel the Clippers to show any mercy, rubbing it in and leaving the Blazers smarting, both teams now 1-2 this season. Clippers crush Trail Blazers for 1st win of season – Orange County Register ![]()
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