Late in Tuesday’s fourth quarter, cameras inside Indianapolis’ Bankers Life Fieldhouse caught Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers’ star sidelined in a matching pair of blue sweatpants and sweatshirt, studying a box score.
Amid a 126-115 victory against the Pacers that once again displayed the offensive might the Clippers can wield, it was hard to know which number to focus on first.
There were Paul George’s game-high 36 points and seven rebounds. Combined with his eight assists that led to 18 points, the All-Star accounted for 42% of his team’s points in one of his most impressive all-around performances since joining the team two years ago.
There were the career-high-tying five blocks for Nicolas Batum, just one game after he’d blocked three against Detroit.
There were the Clippers’ 34 assists, the first time since 2014 the franchise has strung together four consecutive games with at least 30 assists.
There were the 23 fast-break points allowed to Indiana, the NBA’s leader in that category — and the way they were nonetheless neutralized by the 22 scored by the Clippers, a team that is rarely gets out and runs in transition.
It all led to the biggest number: six straight wins, and a 1-0 start to a three-game road trip that includes stops in Detroit on Wednesday and Philadelphia on Friday.
The Clippers (38-18) had made 49% of their 3-pointers during their winning streak entering Tuesday, a level of accuracy that has made their offense statistically one of the most efficient in NBA history, and they made 13 of their 28 (46%) from deep against the Pacers, including 7 of 11 from the corners.
Marcus Morris added 22 points to help the Clippers turn a three-point lead after three quarters into a double-digit lead just two minutes into the fourth. Indiana (25-28) barely threatened again.
In his last four games, George has made 55% of his shots overall and 60% of his 3-pointers, but it was his passing that helped take over the fourth quarter by dishing a pair of alley-oop dunks to reserve Terance Mann, who scored 12 points off the bench.
The Clippers were playing without Leonard for a third consecutive game. After Sunday’s absence was classified as rest, Tuesday’s was attributed to a sore right foot that is being monitored as a “day-to-day situation,” Lue said.
“He is on the trip, so that’s a good sign,” Lue said. “Hopefully we get him back sooner rather than later.”
Both Leonard and George have taken games off because of rest within the past week. While Lue expects the practice to continue throughout the regular season’s final five weeks, he said the challenge for coaches and the team’s sports science staff will be gauging the “fine line” between resting key contributors while maintaining whatever continuity his injury-plagued roster has been able to muster.
“Some guys will get some time off,” Lue said, “just to kind of get their body in the right spot, in the right place going into the playoffs, just to make sure we’re fully healthy — or as healthy as we can be.”
