The high-level competition the Clippers faced this week allowed them to gauge themselves against some of the NBA’s best teams.
The Clippers have proven they can go toe-to-toe with elite teams and they’ve done so without coach Tyronn Lue, who has missed five of the last seven games because of back pain.
And the Clippers displayed their grit again Friday in a 128-108 blowout win over the Memphis Grizzlies at the Intuit Dome.
The seventh-seeded Clippers not only moved to 2½ games behind the fifth-place Grizzlies with their fifth consecutive win, but they also swept the season series 3-0. The Clippers (40-30) are just one game behind sixth-place Golden State.
James Harden led the Clippers with 30 points and nine assists. He was five for 10 from three-point range, giving him 202 on the season. He joined JJ Redick and Paul George as the only players in franchise history to make at least 200 threes in a season.
Kawhi Leonard had a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Ivica Zubac also had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Norman Powell got back in the groove, scoring 14 points. Powell, who was one for two from three-point range, has made 448 three-pointers with the Clippers, pushing him past Lou Williams for seventh on the team’s all-time list.
With Lue at home, Clippers assistant coach Brian Shaw was at the helm. The Clippers are 5-1 under his guidance.
Before the game, Shaw was asked how being in charge of a team is different from being an assistant.
“A lot less sleep,” Shaw said, laughing.
Shaw said “making the final decision” is the biggest difference between the roles.
“I’m more aware of everything that’s happening,” he said. “As an assistant coach, we’re always giving ideas to Ty and obviously he has to make the final decision. So, the biggest is just being in that situation where now the other assistants are giving me a bunch of suggestions and at the same time I might have something on my mind and then trying to juggle what they are telling me, but keep the point that I want to make or a specific thing that I want to do. Just trying to balance that. But other than that, it’s just basketball and it’s just coaching and it’s just trying to keep everything balanced.”
Shaw led the Clippers to an impressive win Tuesday night over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had the best record in the NBA.
On Sunday in Inglewood, the Clippers meet an Oklahoma City Thunder team that has the best record (58-12), and Shaw will be ready.
Assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy missed his second straight game dealing with a family medical issue. He won’t return to the Clippers for at least a couple of weeks, the team said.
