Clippers Fight Off Cavs In 116-102 Win

By Connor Aylward
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Updated: March 9, 2018

As a home team in the NBA, there are few nights where it seems the crowd in your arena is rooting more for a player on the other team than yours. When LeBron James is in the building, that’s almost always the case. On Friday night the Los Angeles Clippers had the tough task of silencing that crowd, and the approach they took was not the typical one.

With Friday being the Clippers NBA-leading 31st different lineup of the season, it only made sense for the team to go with the unexpected when taking on the NBA’s best player. Rookie Sindarius Thornwell had started 8 games this season before this matchup. Known for his defense and hustle, the rookie was trusted to cover James. It’s hard to say he did anything less than stellar given the circumstances. Thornwell frustrated James in the first half holding him to just 11 points. While James ended up having himself a well-rounded game, finishing with 25 points along with 10 rebounds and 6 assists, the performance from Thornwell on both ends of the floor was impressive. Offensively Thornwell seemed fearless and put up 14 points on the night, some of which came in exciting fashion.

.@Sin_City_803 throwin’ it ⬇!!

📺#PrimeTicket #DTLAC Night pic.twitter.com/ysEPLDcwj2

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) March 10, 2018

Los Angeles had a good flow to their offense throughout the game. Most of which ran through Tobias Harris. Harris had a monster third quarter that saw him put in 11 points and knock home 3 three pointers. He would finished the night with a team-high 23 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in what was one of his best performances since joining the Clippers.

The Clippers also got some help in the post. DeAndre Jordan and Montrezl Harrell took advantage of a Cavaliers lineup that didn’t have a true Center with Larry Nance starting in the spot. Jordan managed a double-double before the end of the first half and closed out the game with 20 points and a game-high 23 rebounds. Harrell led all bench scorers with 20 points coming off the pine as well as 5 rebounds.

The Clippers led by as many as 19 in this one but the James led Cavaliers wouldn’t let the game get away from them. This game got as close as 2 points in the second half but Los Angeles would be able to hold off the Eastern Conference challengers. Escaping with a 116-102 victory at home.

With the playoffs approaching every win is important at this point in the season. With this win the Clippers move into the eighth seed in the ultra competitive Western Conference.

Their next game will be against the Orland Magic tomorrow night back at the Staples Center.

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