Clippers pull away from short-handed Knicks

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INGLEWOOD — With 19 regular-season games left on the schedule and injuries still a factor, the Clippers are facing the challenge of winning while short-handed and winning in a hurry.

And that means stacking as many victories as possible between now and mid-April if they have any hope for a higher seed in the postseason.

"We just got to condense and get better at what we're trying to do," Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said.

The Clippers showed signs of improvement in a 105-95 victory against the New York Knicks on Friday night at the Intuit Dome, winning two games in a row for the first time since Feb. 12-13.

While not perfect, the 10-point win was the kind of solid performance the Clippers needed to build on Wednesday's victory over the Detroit Pistons and their solid three quarters of play in a loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.

They currently are the No. 8 team in the Western Conference and in line for the Play-In Tournament (seeds 7-10).

"We are behind. I think the guys are doing the right thing, trying to get back, trying to get on the court but also putting the work in to understand and learn what we need to do to get better," Lue said. "So, we just have to keep pushing through it. You got to take it game to game, day to day."

The Clippers got pushed and pulled by the Knicks, who were without two-time All-Star guard Jalen Brunson, who left Thursday's loss to the Lakers in overtime after rolling his ankle. Brunson, who is seventh in the league in scoring (26.3 points per game) and eighth in assists (7.4 apg), will be re-evaluated in two weeks.

"It's next man up," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. "You don't replace a player like that individually. We will have to do it collectively."

The Clippers know that feeling all too well. It was the same mindset they had throughout the first half of the season while Kawhi Leonard worked his way back with a knee injury and one they recently revisited when Norman Powell suffered a hamstring strain in his first game back after missing six games and Ben Simmons (sore knee) joined him on the bench.

But the Clippers (34-29) still had enough scoring to beat the Knicks (40-23). So much so, that James Harden didn't have to play 40 minutes. The 11-time All-Star point guard still led the team in scoring, though, with 26 points, along with three rebounds and seven assists in 36 minutes.

The Clippers had three other players in double figures.

Leonard added 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Nicolas Batum, making his fourth start of the season and second in a row, scored a season-high 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting (5 for 7 from 3-point range). He also had four rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals.

Ivica Zubac had 16 points and 14 rebounds, setting a single-season career-high in the latter (763).

The Clippers got starting forward Derrick Jones Jr. back on Friday after he missed the three previous games because of a groin strain. He came off the bench and scored nine points, while Bogdan Bogdanovic added eight points and 11 rebounds on a night when the Clippers shot 15 for 38 from behind the arc.

The Knicks didn't let the absence of their star dampen their play. After trailing by as many as eight in the third quarter, New York pushed the Clippers to pull within 78-75 with 2:34 left. But the visitors couldn't take the lead as they missed three 3-point shots in the final two minutes. The Clippers clung to a 79-78 lead heading into the final quarter.

With Harden on the bench, the Clippers regained a nine-point lead (94-85) with less than six minutes to play. They cruised from there to notch their second consecutive victory.

The Clippers got moving quickly, grabbing a 9-0 lead before the Knicks had a chance to get settled. But once the Knicks did, they kept going.

The Clippers, who led 31-25 at the end of the first quarter, found themselves trailing 39-33 less than four minutes into the second. They didn't score their second basket for another minute when Amir Coffey landed a 3-pointer at the 7:20 mark.

The game turned into a 3-point contest as each team scored two long-range shots over the three minutes. Batum tied the score with a 3-pointer and followed it with another for a 50-49 lead.

After Leonard hit two free throws, Harden buried another 3-pointer, and after Karl-Anthony Towns scored, Harden was fouled on his 12th 3-point attempt, sending him to the line for three shots. Zubac closed out the scoring in the first half with a cutting dunk for a 60-54 lead.

Towns led the Knicks with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Mikal Bridges had 22 points and six assists. Josh Hart had 14 points and pulled down 20 rebounds.

More to come on this story.