Clippers’ Luke Kennard enjoys his role in victory over Lakers

LOS ANGELES — Luke Kennard scored 19 points and was astir displeased.

Luke Kennard scored 19 points and was, successful a word, “great!”

What a quality a triumph makes.

After failing to scope double-digit points for six consecutive games, connected Wednesday the Clippers’ shooting defender contributed a team-high-tying 19 points (on 7-for-12 shooting, including hitting 4 of his six 3-point tries) successful a 124-115 nonaccomplishment to Sacramento, their 3rd decision successful arsenic galore games and seventh successful 10 games.

And afterward – contempt his ain bully scoring nighttime – Kennard stewed. Politely, arsenic is his nature, but still, the 25-year-old erstwhile Duke prima was astir dissatisfied by the circumstances and helium said so.

“There was benignant of a agelong determination wherever we were winning games and our 2nd portion was playing truly well,” Kennard said, noting that the Clippers’ reserves’ play – truthful “L.I.T.”, arsenic fans person coined the trio disconnected the seat of Luke, Isaiah Hartenstein and Terance Mann, to commencement the play – had dimmed.

In 145 minutes done the Clippers’ archetypal 11 games, that three-man operation had a affirmative nett standing of 25.8. In the 10 games since, their nett standing went the different absorption – antagonistic 15.9 successful 116 minutes.

“It’s connected maine too,” said Kennard, slumped implicit the microphone successful the location interrogation room. “I’ve had a unsmooth agelong the past week-and-a-half, mates weeks, erstwhile we’ve been losing. I got to beryllium a batch better. I cognize the coaches and my teammates, they look for maine to beryllium assertive and play with a batch of energy, and I deliberation I haven’t done a large occupation of that implicit the past mates of weeks.”

On Friday night, Kennard summed up his feelings astir the 119-115 triumph implicit the Lakers by utilizing the aforesaid word, “great,” though successful overmuch antithetic context.

After scoring 11 of his points successful a dagger-plunging, fourth-quarter flourish, going a cleanable 4 for 4 (and 3 for 3 from down the arc) successful the last 5:49, Kennard entered the visitors’ interrogation country astatine Staples Center (its sanction for the past clip successful a gathering betwixt L.A.’s NBA teams) wearing a winner’s grin.

“I mean, it ever feels bully erstwhile you win,” helium said. “And it was a large game, adjacent game. I thought we benignant of controlled the crippled passim the full night, but they were capable to enactment immoderate runs unneurotic passim the game, but I thought we kept our composure.

“Everybody benignant of responded from the different night, from the past fewer games and it’s thing we request to physique disconnected of, conscionable support trusting each other, support gathering what we privation to bash and conscionable commencement putting unneurotic immoderate wins.”

The Clippers (12-11) person different accidental close away, with a rematch with the Kings connected Saturday successful Sacramento. There, they’ll effort to again travel Tyronn Lue’s crippled plan, get everyone progressive and firing – and get different feel-good W.

Because against the Lakers, it wasn’t lone Kennard who got hot.

Marcus Morris Sr. had a season-high 21 points connected 7-for-12 shooting, including going 6 for 9 from deep.

Also, Serge Ibaka — the 6-foot-10 seasoned who started alongside 7-footer Ivica Zubac for a 2nd consecutive crippled – was effectual astatine putting accent connected the Lakers’ defense, making each 3 of his 3-point attempts.

“When the ball’s moving, and you’re making the close play, everyone’s gonna get shots and that’s what makes discourtesy fun,” Lue said aft improving to 4-0 against the Lakers during his season-plus tenure arsenic the Clippers caput coach.

“But erstwhile you clasp it, and we take, don’t instrumentality the champion shots astatine times, it tin get frustrating. Defensively, that’s erstwhile it’s expected to beryllium hard and you don’t privation to bash it, but discourtesy is expected to beryllium fun. You’re expected to bask offense, and we haven’t been doing it the past eight, 10 games, truthful seeing america tonight, that’s however we gotta play. That’s the blueprint close there.”

And Kennard is keen to deliver, alert of however large of an interaction his show has connected the Clippers’ prospects.

“They privation maine to instrumentality shots if I person space, benignant of similar I did, they privation maine to sprout it nary substance the clip – well, if it’s similar a bully shot, clip to score,” Kennard said. “In a crippled similar that, with immoderate clip left, they privation maine to sprout the shot and enactment aggressive. So they kept telling maine that astatine the timeouts, successful a huddle.”

That’s true, Hartenstein said.

“I mean, to maine he’s 1 of the champion shooters successful the league,” Hartenstein said. “And truthful that’s what I archer him earlier each game.”

Including earlier Friday’s, erstwhile Kennard finished 7 for 10 wide and 5 for 8 from down the arc.

“We executed truly well,” Kennard said. “They enactment unit connected PG a batch and it conscionable benignant of opened up everything other for everybody and they made the close plays and I was conscionable capable to sound down immoderate shots.”

And, yes, it felt great.