In a clash that demanded near-perfection, the Los Angeles Clippers came up just short against the league-leading Oklahoma City Thunder, losing 103-101 in a tightly contested battle Sunday night at the Intuit Dome.
The defeat snapped the Clippers’ five-game winning streak and highlighted the fine margins in a Western Conference playoff race that’s growing tighter by the day. With just 11 games left in the regular season, the Clippers (40-31) now find themselves eighth in the standings—one game shy of securing a top-six seed and avoiding the dreaded play-in tournament.
“We fought hard. We was in the game the whole game,” Kawhi Leonard said postgame. “A lot of turnovers. Even at the end of the fourth, we had two or three turnovers. Just calls could have gone either way. But salute to them. They’ve been the best team in the league.”
The Clippers’ late-game execution let them down when it mattered most. Down 101-100 with 1:22 left after Derrick Jones Jr. missed one of two free throws, a series of missed opportunities followed. Ivica Zubac fumbled the ball out of bounds with just over a minute to go, and Norman Powell missed a critical shot with 21 seconds remaining. Even after Zubac’s offensive rebound gave them another shot, Leonard’s jumper fell short with four seconds left.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, despite a rough shooting night (7-for-29), still managed 26 points, sinking all 11 of his free-throw attempts—including two clutch ones in the closing seconds. The MVP contender leads the league in scoring with 32.9 points per game and helped the Thunder improve to an NBA-best 59-12 record.
For the Clippers, Leonard finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while James Harden added 17 points and moved past Moses Malone into 11th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Harden, however, was seen limping after the game following a third-quarter collision with Luguentz Dort. “I rolled my foot,” he said of the injury.
Norman Powell, with nine points off the bench, summed up the urgency: “I already played in the play-in and I ain’t trying to do that again. Everybody is trying to avoid that play-in right now.”
On a brighter note, head coach Tyronn Lue returned to the sidelines after dealing with back issues, crediting assistant coach Brian Shaw for keeping the team afloat during his absence. “I feel a lot better,” Lue said. “Now, it’s just trying to get the leg part better, but I do feel better from that regard.”
As the Clippers hit the road for a pivotal stretch, every game now carries playoff-level intensity.
