CHICAGO — Whether he’s burying his shots or moving the ball, Paul George seems to make all the right decisions. The Clippers will certainly take more.
George made six 3-pointers and scored 28 points, Kawhi Leonard added 27 and Los Angeles beat the Chicago Bulls 126-111 on Thursday night.
Los Angeles regrouped after a 20-point lead late in the third quarter fell to eight in the fourth and ended a two-game skid, beating Chicago for the second time in six days. Both teams were missing key players with the Clippers’ James Harden (strained left shoulder) and the Bulls’ Coby White (right hip soreness) sidelined. But with George and Leonard leading the way, the Clippers had enough to come away with the victory.
“We’re talking about the last 20 games, getting the ball in PG’s hands so he can get used to it so that when we get to the playoffs we know exactly what we want to do,” the coach said Tyronn Lue. “Now he’s just getting used to running more pick-and-rolls and keeping the ball in his hands.”
George made 11 of 12 from the field and was just shy of a season high by making 6 of 7 3s. The Clippers were 20 of 40 from beyond the arc.
George also had seven assists and just one turnover, with the Bulls teaming him and Leonard.
“It was just about staying in control, playing with our teammates and I think just taking what they gave us,” he said. “I didn’t think we were out of the norm, we weren’t out of character, we just played our style, slowed the game down and took the available shots.”
Leonard, who left Tuesday’s loss to Minnesota because of back spasms, made 12 of 17 shots. He said he thought he was elbowed in the Bulls game and it irritated him the next day in the loss to Milwaukee.
Norman Powell scored 18 points. Bones Hyland added 17 points and a career-high 11 assists while tying a career-high four steals for the Clippers, fourth in the Western Conference.
DeMar DeRozan led Chicago with 21 points after scoring a season-high 46 in Wednesday’s overtime win over Indiana. The Bulls have lost three of four.
Nikola Vucevic scored 19 for Chicago. Alex Caruso made five 3s and finished with 17 points after scoring a season-high 23 the night before, and Andre Drummond scored 15.
The Clippers led 90-70 after Terance Mann’s quick layup with about 4:30 left in the third quarter. But the Bulls weren’t done.
DeRozan cut it to 98-90 early in the fourth with a finger roll and 3-pointer. It was a nine-point game midway through the quarter when Hyland made a 3 and Ivica Zubac tipped in a missed 3 by Leonard, and the Clippers remained in control from there.
The Bulls were breathing a little easier after imaging showed White was not seriously injured, coach Billy Donovan said. He is day to day after Pascal Siakam blocked his layup and landed on him near the end of regulation at Indiana on Wednesday.
FOLLOWING
Clippers: Visit New Orleans on Friday.
Bulls: Host Washington on Saturday.
——
APNBA:
