Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue acknowledged New York’s fourth-quarter dominance after Los Angeles fell 123-111 at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
“It just looked like that second half it was easier for New York to get,” Lue said. “Brunson really took over the game down the stretch, and KAT was aggressive the whole game.”
Lue highlighted the challenges of defending Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson. “We tried to commit early to deter him from driving, but he did a good job running through our guys and getting to the free-throw line a lot,” he said.
The Clippers coach noted defensive adjustments. “We mixed up coverages, tried to blitz them, try to drop, and do some different things. Brunson was able to take over down the stretch,” Lue explained.
On Kawhi Leonard’s performance, Lue said: “Offensively, he had a really good first half, and the second half they said they weren’t going to let him play. They blitzed his pick and rolls, packed the paint, and he and James made the right plays, but we just didn’t make shots.”
Lue admitted frustration with offensive rebounds. “We were aggressive, but just frustrated with offensive rebounds. He had an easy putback. They made a first free throw miss to get the offensive rebound, Brunson hits a three, four-point play,” he said.
He explained how the Knicks protected the paint. “They overcommitted trying to make sure Kawhi and James couldn’t get in, and they made the right pass all night. We got open shots, but we weren’t able to knock them down,” Lue said.
Lue also discussed New York’s bench impact. “Tyler’s been playing great, pushing the pace, and they played through KAT who brought him home once Jalen was on the bench. When Jalen came back, he sealed the deal,” he said.
Despite the loss, Lue credited the Clippers’ effort. “I thought we played a pretty solid game overall. We didn’t make shots like we wanted in the second half, and they continued to score,” he said.
New York snapped a four-game losing streak behind 26 points from Brunson, 20 from Towns, and a late 24-7 run spanning the third and fourth quarters. OG Anunoby added 20, while Miles McBride scored 16.
The Clippers, led by Leonard’s 25 points and Harden’s 23 points with nine assists, were unable to contain the Knicks’ balanced offense and strong paint presence.
Los Angeles falls to 13-23, while the Knicks improve to 24-13, remaining four games behind Eastern Conference leader Detroit. Both teams return to action Friday, with New York at Phoenix and the Clippers hosting Brooklyn.
