Paul George and Kawhi Leonard did their best to go blow after blow with the Big Three of the Brooklyn Nets.
But during the Nets ‘124-120 victory over visitor LA Clippers in a game that matched the hype before the game, the Clippers’ double star failed to keep up with Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving, especially on the foul line. The Brooklyn trio of stars agreed to get 16 of 16 from the line.
Leonard hit 8 of 9 on the track, but George went to the line only once in 36 minutes.
“I mean, I think it was disrespectful to make a free-throw attempt today,” said George, who had 26 points and six assists. “I’ll leave it at that.”
Clippers went on the line just 17 times compared to the Nets’ 26 trips.
George’s only free-throw attempt came when he drove and scored against former teammate Landry Shamet under the basket with 6 minutes, 58 seconds remaining of the game. George almost had to initiate contact before getting rid of the minor Shamet to hear the whistle. His three-point play gave the Clippers a 102-97 lead with 6:58 to go.
But in a game with five perennial All-Stars on the floor, George felt he did not receive the respect of the official team.
“The number of moves I started or made contact with,” argued George. “And to be sent to the line [one] Time …”
The Nets recovered from their 149-146 loss to the Washington Wizards by beating a Clippers team that won 10 of their 11 previous games. Irving led all scorers with 39 points, Durant had 28 points and nine rebounds and Harden had a 23 point triple-double, 14 assists and 11 rebounds.
“As I said the other night, I took it personally, just not being able to protect anyone,” said Irving of the loss to the Wizards, who got 41 points from Russell Westbrook and 37 from Bradley Beal.
Leonard scored 33 points with 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals.
Although George couldn’t make it to the line, he and the Clippers discovered in a 2-and-a-half minute stretch how explosive the Nets’ super trio is.
Durant hit a 7 foot. Irving scored eight consecutive points. Harden then punched back a 3 step to complete a 13-0 blitz.
When asked what the Clippers learned from defending the Big Three of the Nets, who can help them in the long run, Nic Batum responded immediately.
“One thing is for sure: we missed Pat Bev tonight,” said Batum of injured Patrick Beverley, who is out with a knee injury. “We forgot that guy a lot, I think. It would be great for us tonight, so Pat Bev, come back, please.”