Then they’ll have a rematch with this same Clippers team on Saturday in L.A.
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The battle for the starting point guard position was one of the bigger story lines through training camp.
“I don’t want to take anything from them”, Paul said of the Kings. If you switch, you have a smaller guy on Paul. I get what you’re saying, and I believe that we’re going to put up for sure.
“This group has been together for a few years, they have a good understanding of one another”, Pierce said.
The aggression that Boogie plays with is partly why he’s so entertaining to watch, and his attitude towards the Clippers may just be part of that combined with the disappointment of an opening night loss. As it turned out, DJ never really wanted to leave and the move was more of an impulsive reaction to an alleged misunderstanding between Jordan and Chris Paul.
In the second half, Sacramento slowly trimmed the Clippers lead.
Another factor to consider is that Cousins’ desire to play at the power forward position.
“Turnovers killed us, especially on my end”. “We got a few timely stops, made a few timely baskets”.
DeMarcus Cousins: “We still had a great chance of winning this game”. Clippers F DeAndre Jordan played his 323rd consecutive game, the longest active streak in the National Basketball Association.
Thankfully for Los Angeles, those didn’t come back to completely burn them.
The 23-year-old finished the night with six points in 16 minutes.
In the video, you can see Rivers on the bench and upset. “Execution is very important. We did that tonight”.
The Kings were looking for improved defense this season after a full training camp under coach George Karl, who took over last February. Why would Rivers think that would be a good thing to do in the first place?
Clippers: Lance Stephenson made a 3 on his first possession with Los Angeles. He shot 17 percent from 3-point range last season in Charlotte…. Even with a Clippers win, teams are going to feel like they can win against the Clips this season if the lead is under 20 in the 4th quarter. Despite the Kings lacking defensive rotations and sloppy first three-quarters, their bench brought the team back into the game.
It was nearly how the Clippers lost it.
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Cousins also tied his career high for 3-pointers in a season by canning four shots from beyond the arc (on five attempts).
