LOS ANGELES (AP) — With his team in a shooting slump to start the season and 3 of 21 from 3-point range during the first half Monday night, Los Angeles Clippers coach Ty Lue kept his message simple at halftime.
“There was nowhere to go but up,” he said.
Even though the Clippers faced a nine-point deficit late in the fourth quarter, they found their shooting touch just in time and were able to rally for a 99-94 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“I thought early on, we had great looks. … Our bench guys started laughing, ‘We’re getting wide-open shots and we can’t make them,'” Lue said. “I felt like we were in a good place.”
Los Angeles came in 26th in the NBA in field goal shooting and was converting only 31.7% of its 3-pointers after making a record 41.1% last season. It appeared to be more of the same against the Thunder, especially after Josh Giddey’s jumper with 2:44 remaining put Oklahoma City in front 91-82.
But the Clippers (2-4) finally found their rhythm in the last three minutes as they went on a 17-3 run to take the lead. They were 12 of 21 on 3s in the second half, including 6 for 9 in the fourth quarter.
Paul George scored 32 points, including 15 in the final period. George, who also had nine rebounds and seven assists, scored eight points during the decisive spurt, including a 10-footer with 1:08 left to give Los Angeles a 93-92 lead, its first since early in the first quarter.
“Our team was playing good defense. We were holding them. We were getting stops, so we couldn’t finish with empty possessions,” said George, who has scored at least 29 points in four of the Clippers’ six games. “We had to stay confident that shots were going to fall.”
Reggie Jackson added 15 points, while Luke Kennard and Nicolas Batum scored 14 apiece.