Orlando Magic @ LA Clippers
Tuesday, October 31, 2023 at 10:30 PM ET
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA | Game ID: 22300114
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
LAC 13 34 41 30 118ORL 18 32 21 31 102
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
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.
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
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