Los Angeles Clippers Struggle on First Road Trip of the Season

The Los Angeles Clippers went on their first road trip of the season this week, playing four games in five nights. However, it ended up being a trip that the Clippers would like to forget. They finished the trip with a 1-3 record and now have an 8-5 record on the season.

The trip actually started off nicely with a 92-87 win against the San Antonio Spurs. This game came down to the last minute and of course Chris Paul saved the day for the Clippers. He made an amazing step back, fade away jumper from just inside the free throw line that ended up being the game winner.

The Clippers next game was against the Oklahoma City Thunder, which was the beginning of this disappointing trip. This was an amazing game from the opening tip and it ended up needing an overtime to decide the outcome. The Clippers came from behind in the fourth quarter to force the overtime thanks to Matt Barnes, who started in place of an injured Caron Butler.  He ended the game with an impressive 19 points and nine rebounds. Unfortunately, the Clippers got outscored in overtime 15-9 and lost the game 117-111. This was also a game where Paul shot 2-14 from the field and scored just nine points.

The Clippers went on to lose their next game the day after Thanksgiving against the Brooklyn Nets. It clearly looked like a Thanksgiving hangover for the Clippers. They didn’t even manage to score 80 points in this one, losing the game 86-76. It was Brook Lopez who was punishing the Clippers throughout the entire game on the offensive end of the floor, finishing the game with 26 points.

The Atlanta Hawks on the very next day finished off the Clippers disappointing road trip. The Clippers looked as if they were already ready to go home during this one, losing the game 104-93. They basically trailed throughout the entire game and their fourth quarter comeback just wasn’t enough.

So the Clippers looked like one of the best teams in the NBA before this first road trip of the season, but they clearly have some work to do. This team will get a much-needed three game home stand starting tomorrow against the New Orleans Hornets.

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