Cold-shooting Clippers fall to 1-3 with loss to Cavaliers

LOS ANGELES — The conflict was real.

The Clippers had a heck of a clip getting the shot to spell done the hoop successful Wednesday’s 92-79 nonaccomplishment to the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier 13,276 fans astatine Staples Center.

The Clippers missed from agelong scope and short, connected high-degree-of-difficulty layups and no-degree-of-difficulty putbacks. Their attempts would deed each portion of the rim earlier ricocheting out, oregon nary parts of the rim astatine all.

Overall, Tyronn Lue’s squad changeable 31 for 87 (35.6%) and conscionable 9 for 41 (22%) from 3-point range.

Cleveland led wire-to-wire and kept its composure throughout, led by Collin Sexton (26 points connected 12-for-20 shooting, including a wicked dunk connected Nicolas Batum). The speedy defender deed a abbreviated pull-up jumper to marque it 88-72 with 3:02 left, giving Cleveland a 25-point lead, its largest of the night.

The Clippers had rebounded from constrictive season-opening losses astatine Golden State and to Memphis, by blowing retired Portland connected Monday, 116-86.

They weren’t clicking astir arsenic good Wednesday.

Reggie Jackson and Batum some scored 16 points for the Clippers, but All-Star Paul George was held to 12 points (and 10 rebounds), arsenic the Clippers were outrebounded 57-36 and outscored 48-34 successful the paint.

The Cavaliers (3-2) bushed the Clippers (1-3) successful L.A. for the archetypal clip since 2016 and besides snapped an ignominious streak of 5 consecutive losses to the Clippers of 15 points oregon more.

L.A. was playing its 2nd crippled without Marcus Morris Sr. (knee), who joined a crowded Clippers sideline that besides includes halfway Serge Ibaka (back), All-Star Kawhi Leonard (ACL) and rookies Keon Johnson (illness) and Jason Preston (foot).

Playing truthful short-handed proved a gangly bid going up against the Cavaliers’ supersized starters – a corporate that included 6-foot-11 Lauri Markkanen, 6-10 Jarrett Allen and 7-foot rookie Evan Mobley, the erstwhile USC star.

Those 3 combined for conscionable 23 points, but their magnitude proved disruptive defensively.

The Clippers got a third-quarter boost from Jackson (14 points successful the period) and Batum (nine) arsenic Cleveland’s pb yo-yo’d betwixt 3 and 10 and 3 points and, finally, 8 going into the last frame.

George played 7:17 successful the period, and was dogged by foul trouble; helium picked up his 4th erstwhile helium was called for a complaint with 5:10 near successful the 3rd – astatine which constituent George had 9 rebounds but lone 8 points connected 4-for-15 shooting.

The Clippers’ commencement was no-alibi ugly.

Befuddled by Cleveland’s important starting size and stung by Sexton’s 13 first-quarter points, the Cavaliers seemed primed to widen their winning streak to 3 games aft rolling successful aft 2 feel-good wins, against Atlanta and Denver.

The Clippers seemed intent connected handing it to them, shooting 4 for 21 from the tract and 1 for 11 3-point scope successful the archetypal quarter.

The hosts began to find their bearings successful the 2nd quarter, erstwhile they changeable an NBA-like 5 for 11 from the level (but inactive conscionable 3 for 11 from deep) to adjacent a pb that mercifully was lone arsenic ample arsenic 15 points to 47-40 astatine halftime.

After starting the crippled 0 for 7, Paul George made 4 of his adjacent 5 shots and entered the interruption with 8 points.

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