LOS ANGELES _ Kawhi Leonard was out. Paul George was fouled out. And the Knicks couldn't capitalize.
New York lost on a shootout Sunday afternoon to the Clippers, 135-132, because super subs Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell were spectacular while dropping 34 and 32 points, respectively.
Williams was clutch with seven points in the final minutes, negating Marcus Morris' career-high 38 points for the Knicks.
George, who missed L.A.'s previous game because of hamstring tightness, was great when he played (32 points) but fouled out with seven minutes remaining. On both sides, defense felt optional.
A day after revealing that he had no interest in signing with the Knicks despite reports, Leonard took a rest day for the second day of a back-to-back. The official reason was 'knee injury maintenance' because 'load management' is no longer acceptable.
The Clippers came into the day 4-5 in games Leonard doesn't play. The Knicks scored 45 points in the first quarter and led by 16. It tied a franchise record for points in the opening quarter, last accomplished in 1978 against the Nets.
But then things started to unravel.
The Clippers went on a 22-5 run in the second quarter, just before the Knicks (Marcus Morris and Julius Randle) were hit with technical fouls. The Clippers turned a 16-point deficit into an 11 point advantage within about 20 minutes. And that was it. The Knicks (10-26), losers of two straight, trailed for the remainder. They cut the deficit to 3 on multiple occasions but the Clippers (26-12) never broke.
Considering Leonard's absence and the Clippers playing in the second game of a back-to-back, this was a game the Knicks could've stolen. The Knicks were missing starting point guard Elfrid Payton, who left the team to be with his newborn baby.
Payton had flown to join the Knicks on Friday to play in Phoenix, the same day his baby girl was born. But then he left and interim coach Mike Miller said he's unsure if Payton will play Tuesday in L.A. against the Lakers.
With his godfather Steve Nash in attendance, RJ Barrett produced an efficient gem with 24 points on 7 for 11 shooting. It was an encouraging performance because Barrett had been struggling lately while shooting just 32.5% in his previous seven games. But the Knicks couldn't stop the Clippers. That was the overarching issue.
L.A. shot 54% from the field and 56.3% (18 for 32) from beyond the arc.
