LOS ANGELES — Back home after 10 days on the road, the Clippers returned to Staples Center on Friday to face Boston in a matchup missing some of its star wattage.
Five takeaways from the Clippers’ 119-115 loss:
—Paul George sidelined
What took place after tip-off almost wasn’t as notable as what happened two hours beforehand, when Paul George was ruled out because of swelling in a bone in his right foot. Coach Tyronn Lue said he did not know how long George could be out. Given his production — 24.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and a career-high 5.5 assists and 62% effective field-goal percentage — and the fact the team is now without two starters after Patrick Beverley (right knee) missed his seventh consecutive game, George’s absence clearly lowers the margin for error for however long he is out.
—Pressure for playmakers
Losing George added an extra playmaking burden to a roster whose lack of a so-called pure point guard has been considered its weakness despite a blistering start. The Clippers started backup guard Luke Kennard in place of George, whose workload also will need to be shouldered primarily by sixth man Lou Williams and Reggie Jackson, who has started in Beverley’s place, Lue said.
“Those are the two guys that we can run pick-and-roll and run plays through, along with Luke Kennard, being able to make plays for each other as well,” Lue said. “We’ve got to do it by committee.”
And they did Friday, assisting on 15 of their first 20 field goals, with six players contributing.
Of course, this was a Celtics team missing 6-foot-6 guard Jaylen Brown, exactly the type of long-armed, active defender who could have applied more pressure on the Clippers’ guards.
—Filling the void
Because of George’s void and recent history, two stretches immediately stood out as potential problems: the Clippers’ minutes when Kawhi Leonard wasn’t on the floor, and their finish to the first half. The Clippers navigated the first without issue. Leading by 12 when Leonard checked out after playing the entire first quarter, they were still up 10 six minutes later when he returned.
With the second, there was slippage. It wasn’t to the level of Tuesday in Brooklyn, when an 11-point lead late in the first half was just one at halftime in an eventual loss, but the Clippers were outscored 9-4 in the final 2 minutes 43 seconds of the first half Friday, which trimmed what had been a 16-point lead to 11. Eight minutes later, after an 11-2 Boston run, the Celtics had their first lead.
—Bounce-back by Kennard
Has any Clipper this season needed a bounce-back first half more than Kennard needed his 13 points in his first 16 minutes against the Celtics? Kennard made five of his first seven shots and all three of his three-pointers coming off what he called an “up and down” road trip in which he played just 15 minutes combined against New York and Brooklyn. After a “good conversation” with Lue before the trip’s finale in Cleveland, Kennard played well in 22 minutes, and against Boston the 24-year-old looked exactly like the type of confident player the team has expected since trading for him in November.
“I have to do a better job of competing harder,” Kennard said. “(In) a couple games, not like I was approaching it in the wrong way, but just kind of overthinking a little bit, just not letting the game come to me and just playing my game.”
—Rebounding strong
Since Jan. 10, as the Clippers won 11 of 13, they ranked fourth in rebounding percentage, grabbing 52% of available rebounds, and second in defensive rebounding rate (77%).
By halftime, the Clippers’ 26 rebounds doubled Boston’s total.
