Clippers win defensive tussle with Magic

INGLEWOOD — Clippers coach Tyronn Lue predicted Wednesday’s game against the Orlando Magic would be a defensive “tug of war” with neither team giving up much ground.

He wasn’t altogether wrong.

This was a showdown between two of the top-rated defensive teams in the NBA and finding the basket proved difficult for the first 24 minutes. After the push-and-pull first half, though, the Clippers exploited a stretch of poor shooting by the Magic to pull away for a 104-93 victory, their third consecutive win this week and their sixth straight at the new Intuit Dome.

The Magic’s defense – rated second-best in the league – had held their past six opponents below 100 points. The Clippers’ defense (rated seventh) had been holding its own, limiting the top team in the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors, to 99 points on Monday.

On Wednesday, one team succeeded and the other missed its mark.

Not only did the Magic fail to contain the Clippers, who had four players score in double figures, their offense sputtered. They shot 44% from the field and 8 for 35 from 3-point range (22.9%).

Asked before the game what his biggest concern was against Orlando, Lue said, “First one to 80 (points).”

It was a joke, but was it really?

The Clippers were facing a daunting challenge against the Magic, who had won six in a row and were holding opponents to 103.9 points per game. The Clippers were also without Norman Powell.

Powell, their leading scorer, suffered a hamstring injury two nights ago in the Clippers’ victory over the Warriors and was on the bench. Powell, who is averaging 23.4 points, is expected to sit out Friday’s game against the Sacramento Kings as well.

Lue said the Clippers would miss Powell’s ability to get to the basket quickly and the rest of the team will need to contribute on the offensive end.

“Guys going to have to step up, play the right way, don’t try to do it all by ourselves,” Lue said. “It’s going to have to be collective and so our guys will understand that and so hopefully we can hold it down until it gets back.”

Amir Coffey, who started in place of Powell, took up the challenge and scored 11 of his 18 points in the first quarter.

James Harden scored a game-high 24 points (5 for 14 from the field, 11 for 12 on free throws) to go with seven rebounds and five assists, while Ivica Zubac had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Kevin Porter Jr. added 10 points.

Overall, the Clippers shot 49.4% from the field and 50% (11 for 22) from 3-point range, but they made it difficult on themselves with 25 turnovers that led to 25 Magic points.

Neither team managed to gain much of an edge in the first half with the Clippers holding a 57-54 lead.

The Clippers limited Magic forward Franz Wagner to just six points in the first 24 minutes. Wagner came into the game averaging 22.5 points and 5.5 rebounds and finished with 14 points, six rebounds and six assists.

Wagner has seen an increase in his workload with Paolo Banchero (abdomen) out. Orlando was also without Wendell Carter Jr. (foot).

Anthony Black came off the bench to lead the Magic with 17 points and eight assists, while Jalen Suggs added 16 points.

The Clippers grabbed an early 14-9 lead on an alley-oop dunk by Derrick Jones Jr., but that five-point margin didn’t last.

The Clippers again led by a handful of points (50-44) after Harden connected on three free throws with 2:42 remaining in the half. The Magic, though, scored the next eight points to push ahead, 52-50. It was Orlando’s only lead of the opening half.

More to come on this story.