Game ID: 22300114
Orlando Magic @ LA Clippers
Tuesday, October 31, 2023 at 10:30 PM ET
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
LAC 13 34 41 30 118ORL 18 32 21 31 102
LAC vs ORL ScoutingLAC vs ORL Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
LAC availability going into 10/25 · season opener
full strength
LAC availability going into 10/27 · 1 day's rest
full strength
LAC availability going into 10/29 · 1 day's rest
full strength
LAC availability going into 10/31 · 1 day's restNEW Westbrook 22 to 31 min over the last 3
NEW Hyland 14 to 22 min over the last 3
LAC availability going into 11/01 · back-to-backNEW Westbrook 22 to 31 min over the last 4
NEW Hyland 14 to 24 min over the last 4
LAC availability going into 11/06 · 4 days' restNEW Westbrook 22 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Hyland 14 to 26 min over the last 5
LAC availability going into 11/08 · 1 day's restNEW Westbrook 22 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Hyland 14 to 26 min over the last 5
LAC availability going into 11/10 · 1 day's restNEW Westbrook 22 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Hyland 14 to 23 min over the last 5
ORL availability going into 10/25 · season opener
full strength
ORL availability going into 10/27 · 1 day's rest
full strength
ORL availability going into 10/30 · 2 days' rest
full strength
ORL availability going into 10/31 · back-to-backOUT Black missed 2 since 10/27, returns tonight: 4 min (24% of 16)
OUT Houstan missed 2 since 10/27, returns tonight: 4 min (29% of 13)
NEW Fultz 20 to 27 min over the last 3
ORL availability going into 11/02 · 1 day's restBACK Black back 10/31 after 2, 4 min since (24% of 16)
BACK Houstan back 10/31 after 2, 4 min since (29% of 13)
NEW Fultz 20 to 29 min over the last 4
ORL availability going into 11/04 · 1 day's restBACK Black back 10/31 after 2, 10 min since (60% of 16)
BACK Houstan back 10/31 after 2, 4 min since (29% of 13)
NEW Fultz 20 to 29 min over the last 4
ORL availability going into 11/06 · 1 day's restOUT Fultz missed 2 since 11/02, out tonight
BACK Black back 10/31 after 2, 17 min since (100% of 16)
BACK Houstan back 10/31 after 2, 4 min since (26% of 13)
ORL availability going into 11/09 · 2 days' restOUT Carter Jr. missed 2 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Gar. Harris missed 2 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Fultz missed 3 since 11/02, returns tonight: 29 min (141% of 20)
BACK Black back 10/31 after 2, 21 min since (125% of 16)
BACK Houstan back 10/31 after 2, 7 min since (51% of 13)
10/25 vs POR 123-111 — LAC notes
LAC won 123-111. LAC shot 52% (47 of 90) to POR's 47%, 16 of 34 from three. George led with 27 (11 of 17, 4 of 7 from three); Leonard added 23, Zubac 20. The hinge was Q2, 38-27: a lead of 9 became 20, and the lead reached 30. Westbrook was the night's best plus/minus at +30.
10/27 @ UTA 118-120 — LAC notes
LAC lost 118-120. LAC shot 53% (41 of 77) to UTA's 44%, 14 of 35 from three, and went to the line 28 times to UTA's 22 — 22 points from the stripe to their 20. P. George led with 36 (9 of 17, 3 of 9 from three, 15 of 15 at the line); Leonard added 25, Powell 20. Q4 was theirs, 35-31, the deficit cut from 6 to 2, but the other 3 periods went 89-83 against them. Plumlee's -11 in 12 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/29 vs SAS 123-83 — LAC notes
LAC won 123-83. LAC shot 52% (47 of 91) to SAS's 38%, 16 of 42 from three. LAC turned it over 16 times to SAS's 25. The glass went 48-37 for them. Leonard led with 21 (6 of 13, 3 of 7 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); George added 19, Westbrook 19. The hinge was Q3, 37-23: a lead of 19 became 33, and the lead reached 41. Westbrook was the night's best plus/minus at +30.
10/31 vs ORL 118-102 — LAC notes
LAC won 118-102. LAC shot 49% (44 of 89) to ORL's 47%, 14 of 31 from three, and got to the line 23 times to ORL's 33. George led with 27 (8 of 17, 6 of 9 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Westbrook added 18, Hyland 17. The hinge was Q3, 41-21: LAC came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 17, and the lead reached 20. LAC trailed 47-50 at the half and won the second half 71-52. Zubac was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
11/06 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 103 a night and allowing 102, shooting 41 percent and 30 from three, 25 free throws a game; Brunson at 27 and Barrett at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Barrett (2 straight). 2 days' rest. The Clippers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 109, shooting 51 percent and 42 from three, 23 free throws a game; George at 29 and Leonard at 23 a game. 4 days' rest.
So: The Clippers win, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, the Clippers at 42 percent from three to New York's 30 and the glass, where New York has been plus-8 a night and the Clippers plus-1. Call it the Clippers 111, New York 107, New York keeping it close.
11/08 @ BKN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Brooklyn comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 117, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Thomas at 27 and Bridges at 23 a game. Without Claxton (6 straight), Cam. Johnson (6 straight), Clowney (7 straight). One day's rest. The Clippers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 109, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 23 free throws a game; George at 25 and Leonard at 22 a game. One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, on the road, and the game turns on the turnovers, the Clippers giving it away 16 times a game to Brooklyn's 10 and the defense, the Clippers allowing 109 a night to Brooklyn's 117. Call it the Clippers 116, Brooklyn 115, Brooklyn keeping it close.
11/10 @ DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Dallas comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 115, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 27 free throws a game; Dončić at 27 and Irving at 21 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest. The Clippers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 105, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 20 free throws a game; George at 23 and Leonard at 20 a game. That is 3 straight losses. One day's rest.
So: Dallas wins, and the game turns on the defense, the Clippers allowing 105 a night to Dallas's 115 and the line, where Dallas takes 27 free throws a game to the Clippers' 20. Call it Dallas 114, the Clippers 113, the Clippers keeping it close.
10/25 vs HOU 116-86 — ORL notes
ORL won 116-86. ORL shot 48% (42 of 87) to HOU's 41%, 9 of 34 from three, and went to the line 26 times to HOU's 16 — 23 points from the stripe to their 10. The glass went 57-31 for them. Anthony led with 20 (8 of 12); F. Wagner added 19, Banchero 12. The hinge was Q4, 29-17: a lead of 18 became 30. Anthony was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
10/27 @ POR 102-97 — ORL notes
ORL won 102-97. ORL shot 46% (36 of 79) to POR's 40%, 9 of 28 from three, and went to the line 32 times to POR's 21 — 21 points from the stripe to their 18. F. Wagner led with 23 (6 of 16, 3 of 9 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Anthony added 18, M. Wagner 17. The hinge was Q1, 31-26: from level to 5 ahead. F. Wagner was the night's best plus/minus at +11.
10/30 @ LAL 103-106 — ORL notes
ORL lost 103-106. ORL took 16 more shots (95 to 79), fed by 12 offensive rebounds, but shot 40% to LAL's 53%, 14 of 35 from three. ORL turned it over 11 times to LAL's 16. Harris led with 17 (6 of 6, 5 of 5 from three); F. Wagner added 16, Suggs 15. Q2 was theirs, 34-25, turning a 5-point deficit into a 4-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 81-69 against them.
10/31 @ LAC 102-118 — ORL notes
ORL lost 102-118. ORL shot 47% (38 of 81) to LAC's 49%, 7 of 30 from three, and went to the line 33 times to LAC's 23 — 19 points from the stripe to their 16. Banchero led with 15 (5 of 13, 1 of 3 from three, 4 of 8 at the line); F. Wagner added 14, M. Wagner 13. Q1 was theirs, 18-13, but the other 3 periods went 105-84 against them. Anthony's -18 in 18 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/04 vs LAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Orlando comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 104, shooting 45 percent and 31 from three, 29 free throws a game; F. Wagner at 19 and Banchero at 16 a game. One day's rest. The Lakers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 115, shooting 47 percent and 30 from three, 27 free throws a game; Davis at 26 and James at 25 a game. Without Hachimura (2 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Orlando wins, and the game turns on the defense, Orlando allowing 104 a night to the Lakers' 115. Call it Orlando 112, the Lakers 108, the Lakers keeping it close.
11/06 vs DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Orlando comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 107, shooting 45 percent and 34 from three, 28 free throws a game; F. Wagner at 20 and Banchero at 19 a game. Without Fultz (2 straight). One day's rest. Dallas comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 116, shooting 48 percent and 41 from three, 26 free throws a game; Dončić at 32 and Irving at 19 a game. Without Kleber (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Orlando wins, and the game turns on the arc, Dallas at 41 percent from three to Orlando's 34 and the defense, Orlando allowing 107 a night to Dallas's 116. Call it Orlando 114, Dallas 112, Dallas keeping it close.
11/09 vs ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Orlando comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 111, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 25 free throws a game; Banchero at 20 and F. Wagner at 18 a game. Without Carter Jr. (2 straight), Gar. Harris (2 straight), Fultz (3 straight). 2 days' rest. Atlanta comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 115, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 26 free throws a game; Murray at 26 and Young at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 11 a night. Without Fernando (3 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Atlanta wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Atlanta has been plus-11 a night and Orlando plus-3. Call it Atlanta 115, Orlando 113, Orlando keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
ORLAB A. Black
CA C. Anthony
CH C. Houstan
CO C. Okeke
FW F. Wagner
GB G. Bitadze
GH G. Harris
JH J. Howard
JI J. Ingles
JS J. Suggs
MF M. Fultz
MW M. Wagner
PB P. Banchero
WC W. Carter Jr.
LACAC A. Coffey
BH B. Hyland
DI Diabate
IZ I. Zubac
JM J. Miller
KB K. Brown
KL K. Leonard
MD M. Diabaté
MP M. Plumlee
NP N. Powell
PG P. George
RW R. Westbrook
ORL/LAC the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
With James Harden watching, Clippers take control in 3rd quarter to beat Magic 118-102
LOS ANGELES -- — Paul George scored 27 points, Russell Westbrook added 18 and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Orlando Magic 118-102 on Tuesday night as future teammate James Harden watched from a suite.
Harden could not be on the Clippers' bench because the trade bringing him to Los Angeles from the Philadelphia 76ers has not been finalized.
He and fellow newcomer P.J. Tucker arrived at the arena 75 minutes before tipoff. Harden was greeted by owner Steve Ballmer and then met with the Clippers in the locker room. The 10-time All-Star and 2018 NBA MVP hugged Westbrook and George upon seeing them. Harden already has a locker with his new No. 1 Clippers blue jersey ready to be donned.
When asked by a reporter if he was excited about being traded to the Clippers, Harden said: “You don’t understand.”
Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard and Los Angeles coach Tyronn Lue declined to comment about the Harden trade because it wasn't official yet.
The Clippers had only 11 players in uniform due to the pending trade, with nine seeing at least 18 minutes. Bones Hyland and Norman Powell added 18 points apiece.
Westbrook scored 16 points and George 14 in the third quarter. The Clippers trailed 50-47 at halftime before taking control by outscoring the Magic 41-21.
“I thought honestly, we were getting great shots in the first half. They just weren’t falling,” George said. “We continued to be aggressive. There wasn't any panic (in the first half). We've got great shot-makers.”
Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 15 points and Franz Wagner had 14 points and eight rebounds. Moritz Wagner scored 13 off the bench.
“They turned up the level defensively as well as offensively. They started attacking us a little bit more,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “I thought the ball movement was good tonight, but shots didn't fall.”
Orlando jumped out to a 38-29 advantage with 4:24 remaining in the second quarter before Los Angeles scored seven straight points.
The third period featured a 26-6 run by Los Angeles over nearly six minutes. It included a spurt of 10 straight Clippers points, eight supplied by George.
After shooting 33.3% from the floor in the first half, the Clippers were 17 of 23 in the third quarter.
“We were nasty offensively in the first half. Our defense is what saved us,” Lue said. “I would say in the third quarter Russ did a good job pushing the pace. We got some turnovers getting out in transition and then PG got hot as well.”
UP NEXT
Magic: Wrap up their four-game trip Thursday against Utah.
Clippers: Face the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday as the visiting team.