By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Los Angeles Clippers overpowered the Chicago Bulls, 126-111, in an inter-conference matchup to stop its NBA regular season losing streak on March 15, 2024.
After dropping two straight games against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Clippers finally re-entered the NBA winning column and maintained its fourth spot in the Western Conference with a 42-23 win-loss record.
It was all Los Angeles from the get-go as their offense was firing from all cylinders, dropping its highest-scoring quarter of the game with 37 points compared to Chicago’s 26.
As the Clippers built an 11-point lead heading into the second quarter, the Bulls trimmed it quickly to six in the first five minutes of the frame but Los Angeles was quick to counter spearheaded by the hot-shooting of Kawhi Leonard who returned healthy after missing the second half of the Minnesota game due to back spasms.
Leonard was unstoppable against Chicago and dropped 27 points, five rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block.
Paul George was also a man on a mission for the Clippers as he top-scored the game with 28 markers derived from an efficient 11/12 shooting from the field.
It was George who picked up where Leonard left off, only missing an attempt from the three-point territory out of seven total tries.
Despite DeMar DeRozan’s mini-offensive spurt in the second half, Los Angeles’ more balanced offensive distribution became the major storyline of the game as three other players joined Leonard and George in reaching the double-digit scoring mark.
Leading the way for the bench mob was Normall Powell who contributed 18 points while the duo of Bones Hyland and Terance Mann added 17 and 12 points, respectively.
The Clippers will aim to sustain its offensive consistency today, as they take on the New Orleans Pelicans at 8 AM.
