Brooklyn Nets’ Spencer Dinwiddie (26) passes away from LA Clippers’ Ivica Zubac (40) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
NEW YORK (AP) — Lonnie Walker came off the bench to score 21 points and Day’Ron Sharpe added 11 points and 10 rebounds as the Brooklyn Nets beat the Clippers 100-93 on Wednesday night, sending Los Angeles to its fourth road loss.
Cam Thomas scored 14 points in the first half for the Nets before leaving the game early in the third period with a sprained left ankle after being tripped by PJ Tucker while driving to the basket. Dorian Finney-Smith added 12 points for Brooklyn, which snapped a two-game losing streak.
With Thomas out, Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn said he entrusted Walker more, drawing plays for him during timeouts and placing him on pick-and-rolls toward the end of the game.
It paid off. Walker shot 5 for 11 from the field, including 3 for 5 from long distance, for 13 points in the last two quarters.
“Just a lot of self-confidence,” Walker said. “Understanding my capabilities. I really put a lot of time and effort into the game. I sacrifice a lot of time and effort into the game. What you put in is what you’re going to get out of it.”
Paul George scored 24 points and Kawhi Leonard 17 for the new-look Clippers, who lost their third straight. Ivica Zubac had 10 points and 10 rebounds and James Harden added 12 points and eight rebounds in his second game with Los Angeles since being acquired from Philadelphia on Oct. 30.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue noticed that his quartet of stars — George, Leonard, Harden and Russell Westbrook — appeared too passive for the second consecutive night – after losing by 14 points to New York at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.
“When we were getting open shots they were not taken and that forces us to take even harder shots,” Lue said. “So, just trying to find those guys on the floor,…
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