Clippers ride stingy defense to victory over Magic in finale of 3-1 trip
ORLANDO, Fla. — Even when their offense is struggling, the Clippers can typically count on their defense to keep them in any game.
Kawhi Leonard and Norman Powell each scored 21 points, Ivica Zubac added 18 points and 20 rebounds and the Clippers came up with one of their best defensive performances of the season in a 96-87 victory over the Orlando Magic on Monday night. James Harden added 20 points and six steals for the Clippers, who wrapped up a 3-1 trip by winning for the 11th time in their past 14 games.
Despite being held under 100 points for the first time in 18 games since Feb. 24, the Clippers (43-32) moved into a seventh-place tie with idle Minnesota with seven games remaining in the regular season. Idle Golden State (43-31) is a half-game ahead in sixth.
Orlando’s 87 points were the second-fewest the Clippers have allowed this season. Holding the Magic to just 30-of-76 shooting from the field (39%), including 7 for 26 from 3-point range, the Clippers overcame their own offensive struggles.
The Clippers shot 8 for 31 from 3-point range and committed 16 turnovers, which Orlando converted into 19 points, but the visitors dominated the glass 48-32 behind Zubac’s effort.
Orlando was within 78-75 midway through the fourth quarter with a potential game-tying possession when Paolo Banchero lost the ball on a drive. Powell converted a layup for the Clippers, Bogdan Bogdanovich followed with a 3-pointer. Harden capped the pivotal 7-0 mini-run with a layup, and the Clippers led by at least five the rest of the way as they bounced back from Sunday’s loss in Cleveland.
Harden, Leonard, Powell and Zubac accounted for all but 16 of the Clippers’ points for the night. Zubac made his first six field-goal attempts and had a double-double with about four minutes still left in the first half. He finished 7 for 10 from the floor.
Paolo Banchero had 26 points on 8-of-24 shooting (1 for 8 from 3-point range) with six turnovers, and Franz Wagner added 21 points for the Magic (36-40), who lost for the eighth time in 10 home games and fell a game behind idle Atlanta in the race for seventh, the top play-in spot in the Eastern Conference. Orlando has lost 16 of its 18 games against the top nine teams in the West, with its only two wins coming against the Lakers.
UP NEXT
The Clippers host New Orleans on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. to begin a five-game homestand.