INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Los Angeles Clippers came out like a distracted team on the second night of a row. The Philadelphia 76ers came out red hot behind All-Star Tyrese Maxey, knocking down 3-pointers like they were shooting in an empty gymnasium.
The result was the 76ers taking a 13-2 lead in less than four minutes – and their lead never got into single digits the rest of the night.
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Philadelphia’s lead grew to 23 points, and even though the Clippers made a few runs, Maxey and Joel Embiid always had an answer. The result was a comfortable 128-113 victory for the 76ers to begin their trip to the West Coast Road. Maxey led the way with 29 points.
During the game, news broke that James Harden was pushing for a trade out of Los Angeles, and the Clippers were in talks with the Cavaliers about a possible deal to bring All-Star guard Darius Garland to Los Angeles. Harden was not in the building for that game, missing his second straight game for what the team called “personal reasons.”
When asked if the rumors could have distracted his players, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said he didn’t know. To a man, Clippers players said they didn’t know anything about it before the game.
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“It’s a surprise…” Kawhi Leonard said. “Respect his decision, or anyone’s decision. He’ll always be my boy. Trust the front office.”
The Clippers looked like a distracted team to start the game, not to mention playing a back-to-back game (they played at Phoenix the night before) and one without their starting point guard. Philadelphia came out strong and took a 16-2 lead, and it all snowballed from there.
By the end of the first quarter, Philly had doubled the Clippers 38-19 behind 16 from All-Star starter Tyrese Maxey.
Maxey didn’t score in the second quarter and Leonard scored 13 in the frame, but the Clippers couldn’t get any stops or close the gap, and the 76ers still led by 19 at halftime, 72-53.
The 76ers’ tradition of struggling in the third quarter continued and the Clippers found their sea legs, narrowing the gap to 11 points for a moment. Yet the play was never in doubt — every time the Clippers got close, the 76ers answered. Sometimes insistently.
Two-way player Dominick Barlow scored a career-high 26 points for the 76ers – 11 in the first quarter – along with 16 rebounds, and helped set the tone. Joel Embiid scored 24 points with five rebounds.
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“It was good, everyone contributed, Dominick Barlow was great, Tyrese (Maxey) was great,” Embiid said after the game. “For the rest, everyone did their job, it was good to see.”
Leonard led the Clippers with 29, while Jordan Miller scored 21 off the bench for Los Angeles.
Leonard and the Clippers face the Cavaliers on Wednesday, in a game that suddenly became much more interesting.
