Clippers pass test against tough Thunder team
It was late on Wednesday night, a good 30 minutes after the Clippers had defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder at Staples Center, when Clippers Coach Doc Rivers admitted this was a “good test” for his team.
The Clippers responded to being down by 14 points in the first half. The Clippers responded by standing up to the talented Thunder by playing defense in the second half.
“You do learn a little bit about your team,” Rivers said. “I don’t know if I learned much about them (Oklahoma City). They’re pretty good. I knew that before the game. But overall, it was a good test and we won the game.”
Rivers learned that his team can play defense and “fight back”.
The Clippers held the Thunder to 41 points and 35.5% shooting in the second half after allowing the Thunder to score 62 points in the first half and make 54.5% of its shots.
The Clippers held the Thunder to six fast-break points in the second half, this after the Thunder had 13 fast-break points in the first half.
“That’s who we can be for 48 minutes,” Rivers said about his team’s second-half defense. “We’re just not there yet.”
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