Clippers 113
Wizards 112
December 9, 2017 | Staples Center | Los Angeles, CA
Washington and Los Angeles did battle in a roller coaster matchup. One started hot, then the other dominated for a long stretch, and for the final stretch, each went back and forth. In the fourth quarter alone, there were 14 lead changes and neither team led by more than four points at any stretch. The Wizards came up on the wrong side after 48 minutes and lost for the 10th straight time at Staples Center against the Clippers, 113-112.
Fire Start From The Road Team
After Friday’s practice, Saturday’s birthday boy Kelly Oubre Jr. said, “we can’t stoop down to the level of competition ... we do that a lot.” Against a Los Angeles team without Patrick Beverley and Blake Griffin, a fast start for Washington would be important and they got exactly that. The Wizards jumped on the Clippers with a 13-0 run thanks to buckets from Marcin Gortat twice and three straight three-pointers from Otto Porter Jr who had just six points in his previous two games combined.
First Half Defensive Collapse
A 13-point first quarter lead turned into a 13-point halftime deficit, 62-49. Washington failed to effectively defend the three-point line as the 23rd best team in the NBA at shooting the deep ball was 8 of 15 from beyond the arc. Danilo Gallinari and Lou Williams were able to get whatever they wanted with a combined 29 points in the first half. The Clippers were getting whatever they wanted with two 30-point quarters and the issues were exacerbated by the Wizards only scoring 36 points in the last 20 minutes of the first half partly due to just 4 of 16 shooting from deep.
Second Half Resurgence Led By Big Three
Early in the third quarter, Washington was down 66-52 and showing limited signs of life. The Wizards then went on a 17-4 run to close the deficit to 1 and they eventually took a 90-87 lead early in the fourth quarter. After Bradley Beal had 2 points on 1 of 7 shooting in the first half, the soon to be All-Star exploded for 16 points on 5 of 8 shooting including four three-pointers. Otto Porter Jr. kept the Wizards in the game during all four quarters with a team-high 27 points on 10 of 16 shooting also including four three-pointers to go along with 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Without John Wall, it was Mike Scott that delivered with 22 points on 9 of 11 shooting including three three-pointers to go with eight rebounds and two assists. The 22 points are the most Scott has scored in a game since April 4, 2014 with the Hawks.
Beyond Weird Finish
With less than 30 seconds to play, Los Angeles was down two with the ball. Austin Rivers missed a corner three-point attempt with 18.1 seconds to play, but DeAndre Jordan came down with the rebound after pushing off on Marcin Gortat to gain better position. An irritated Scott Brooks after the game did not blame the officiating on this play and seemed to slight Gortat for not fighting through the contact. The result was another three-point attempt for Rivers, which he naturally drained.
Washington was able to shake that no-call off as Beal responded with an and-1 layup off of a beautiful after timeout play call, but Wizards killer Lou Williams came right back with a 29-foot three-pointer. With 1.2 seconds left, the road team had a shot, albeit slim, and Beal drained a midrange floater, but time had expired. BUT WAIT. The clock started 0.2 seconds early, probably more given that the clock usually starts a half second slow on the initial catch.
According to Beal, the referees told him as a result of the “tough shit rule”, Washington would have to re-run a play with 1.1 seconds left and a worse inbounding spot, which should not be taken lightly with 7-foot DeAndre Jordan in front of Tomas Satoransky. To avoid a five-second violation, Satoransky had to force a pass into Gortat, which obviously was not the hope, and the Washington center had to throw up a 21-foot prayer that clanked off the front rim.
Here is a transcript of pool reporter Todd Dybas of The Washington Times with lead official Bill Spooner about the end of game transactions. For worn, it makes zero sense.
Q: Why did the clock change after the review from 1.2 to 1.1?
“We had a clock malfunction, early start. The crew actually incorrectly reset the shot-clock to 1.1, we should have reset it to 0.1. The reason is, on an early start, we timed the possession, the lost time. The only time that was lost was 0.1. So we should have inbounded the ball at the point of interruption, which is what we did, but it should have been at 0.1 instead of 1.1.”
Q: Why did the location of the inbounds change?
“The ball is inbounded at the point of interruption, right where [Bradley Beal] caught the ball.”
Q: Why didn’t the full play when Beal shot count? “We had a clock malfunction, early start.”
Q: What rule covers that situation? “Rule 13 section 1A – 5.”
“The wasted time, if you will, the time that they lost, was 1.1. With an inbounds at 1.2, that leaves, mathematically, 0.1 and that should have been where we reset it. We actually made the mistake, in their favor if you will, and reset it at 1.1.”
“By rule, it’s a clock malfunction, early start and we have certain protocol to do on that play, which should have meant 0.1 rather than 1.1.”
No One To Blame But Themselves
Lou Williams should not be scoring 35 points off the bench on just 20 shots. The Clippers should not be shooting 14 of 32 (43.8 percent) from three. No names like Jawun Evans, C.J. Williams, Jamil Wilson, and Montrzel Harrell should not have 24 points on 9 of 12 shooting. The game was lost on the defensive end, but any opportunity of stealing back a win was thrown away at the charity stripe.
Eight missed free throws including 9 of 17 from non-Ian Mahinmi shooters is ridiculous. Unfortunately, Tomas Satoransky was fouled in a transition opportunity with 51.9 seconds left and a chance to put his team up 6 points, but he uncharacteristically missed both free throws. A surprisingly short Brooks after the game indicated that some players were not playing as hard as he expects and despite naming names, one could guess that might include Markieff Morris and Kelly Oubre Jr. as they played just 16 and 20 minutes in the game.
Next Game: Washington will wrap up their five-game road trip by facing the Brooklyn Nets and recently acquired Jahlil Okafor on Tuesday in what could be John Wall’s return to action after injections into his left knee.