It's like an ad for IcyHot.
The cold part: Damien Lillard, who scored just 12 points on 4-of-15 shooting and 8 three-pointers in the 28-minute game.
Hot section: Luke Kennard, who came off the bench for 24 minutes, shot 8-of-10 and 6-of-7 from three-point range to score 23 points.
On Monday night, the Clippers took on the Portland Trail Blazers at home to staples center, taking home to the season's first win in front of 15,672 fans, and the Clippers' lead snowballed like a snowball.
Note: All dates are not specifically specified and are local time
It was also Tyrone Lue's first coaching match with his friend Billups, but the Clippers didn't show any mercy, they hit the Blazers, and both teams had a 1-2 record in the new season.
"We talked about the Clippers in the locker room," Billups told reporters in the team's media room. "They haven't won their first win yet, they've lost two games in a row. They are desperately trying to win the game... But in the first leg of the game, we made a mistake and we failed to score the ball. ”
"When there are 30 turnovers in a game, it's hard to play against the opponent."
It was the eighth time since the 1983-84 season that the Clippers had forced at least 30 turnovers against their opponents, and the most since the 1996 game forced the Knicks to make 32 turnovers. It was the first time there had been so many turnovers since the Blazers lost to the Knicks 120-116 in 1989 (30 turnovers).
Of all 30 turnovers by the Blazers, 21 were caused by steals, which also means that the Clippers completed 21 steals, the second-highest number in team history.
In addition to desperately trying to avoid a 3-0 start to the new season, Coach Lu praised Nicholas Batum for his help on the defensive end. Batum joined Marcus Morris, who was sidelined due to injury, into the starting line-up.
"Batum has done a great job and he has done a great job on the defensive end," Lu said. "His energy, height and arm span and athleticism got his opponents in trouble. So the starting players are somewhat dependent on his defense. ”
When Kennard played, the Clippers' offense improved dramatically, delivering a total of 37 assists (44 shots) — the clippers' highest since their Jan. 22, 2015 win over the Nets (41 assists).
The former Duke's left-hander will be in sunny San Diego, dominating the field like a golf tournament training camp or a fishing trip with his teammates.
The Clippers have made Kennard's heart (and most likely his subconscious) well aware that the latter needs to take every potential shooting opportunity.
He fired indiscriminately at Portland, striking with precision. He came from the bench and was in such hot form that Director Lu couldn't take him down and arranged for him to play for 16 and a half minutes straight.
Most of Kennard's offense occurred in the first half of the game, with no false shots in the first five; he scored 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the first half, including 4-of-5 from three-point range.
Meanwhile, the Clippers are keeping an eye on Lillard, who can perform well against any team except the Clippers. The All-Star was frustrated and stalled during the game, frustrated and demoralized.
Even if the Clippers don't have an annoying defender in the lineup, Beverley, to disrupt Lillard, the latter will still have a hard time breaking through the Clippers. The Clippers are the only team that lillard has averaged no more than 20 points per game in his career (19.4 points per game before Monday's game), and Lillard has never improved.
He shot 3-of-8 and 0-of-5 from three-point range in the first half. With 2:02 left before the end of the third quarter, he was substituted — and when the third quarter was at 10:35, his layup narrowed the gap by at least 60-44, the only goal he hit in the second half.
In the three games of the new season, Lillard shot just 2-of-24 from three-point range, which was an extraordinary performance.
To his credit, Lillard worked hard not to let the game lose its suspense. He got impatient and tried to lock the Clippers' 2m 13 big center Isaiah Haltenstein, but the attempt was unsuccessful; to make matters worse, he was also blown off for an offensive foul.
Giving us a few quick-forward rounds, Terrance Mann (13 points on 5-of-6 shooting) managed to defend Lillard's back-up jumper.
Mann and Kennard masked some of the Clippers' shaky projections — in addition to that, the Clippers shot 31-of-77 from the field , 40.0 percent — avoiding a 0-3 start for the first time since the 10-11 season, when then-coach Vinnie Del Negro was in charge of the Clippers.
Paul George delivered a career-high 8 steals — he made more steals than he shot, scoring 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting and 2-of-8 from beyond the three-point line that night. Reggie Jackson shot 6-of-20 and 3-of-15 from three-point range (9-of-32 from three-pointers so far this season).
Kennard, who was recently engaged, drove at full power, and his six three-pointers tied a career high. In addition, he grabbed 4 rebounds, delivered 3 assists, 1 block and 1 steal.
"Man, I've been doing well," Kennard said, "but, yes, it's always great when you get into rhythm and throw some balls." It's always been a good thing, and I feel good. ”
"I've said before, it's about staying aggressive, staying that mentality every night, trying to shoot, I know I'm going to get a chance and hopefully the ball will hit the basket, and today I shot some of the balls."
After losing their first two games (losing eight points in total), the Clippers defeated their opponents early in the third game. Despite Marcus Morris, Kawhi Leonard and Serge Ibaka all sidelined with injuries, the Clippers won easily, upsetting the balance not long after the start of the first quarter.
The Clippers led the Blazers by 18 points at one point in the second quarter — thanks in large part to a 14-4 attack wave played by a five-man group of Reggie, Kennard, Haltenstein, Mann and Justis Winslow in the final 3:57 of the first quarter, which established the advantage.
Beloved rookie Brandon Boston Jr. made his career debut in the fourth quarter. The former Star of Chatsworth Sierra Canyon High School played eight minutes and scored three points, hitting a jump shot and making one free throw on two free throws.
CJ McCollum scored 20 points for the Blazers, who shot just 36 percent from the field, had just 15 assists and 30 turnovers.