With their newly acquired superstars resting on the bench, the Los Angeles Clippers got their first look at the supporting cast for Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
The results were mixed in a 109-96 loss to the Houston Rockets on Thursday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
While the Rockets feasted on the Clippers’ starting unit, with James Harden supplying the bulk of the excitement for a sold-out crowd, Los Angeles’ backup unit held its own, with its top players off the bench, Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell, combining for 30 points in 34 minutes.
Four of the five players off the bench scored in double figures and the Clippers closed the game outscoring Houston 31-20 in the fourth quarter after Harden took a seat for good.
“You’re sitting there thinking that bench, with the starters that we can put on the floor, will be pretty good,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “I love our guys got a chance to play against a lot of their starters. I thought it was great for us — great experience for us.”
Different players got their chance at guarding Harden, who finished with 37 points on 8-for-22 shooting.
Terance Mann, a second-round pick of the Clippers in 2019, had eight points, nine rebounds and four assists in his first game in an NBA uniform.
He also got his first taste of dealing with Harden’s step-back and one-legged 3-pointers.
“It was cool. Growing up, watching him, I was just locked in trying to learn the principles that Kawhi and everyone else was telling me.”
Williams, a three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year, came off the bench and hit his first jumper on the team’s second possession and finished with 13 points.
Rodney McGruder, the 2011 Diamond Head Classic Most Valuable Player with Kansas State, was one of five Clippers in double figures, with 12 points.
Point guard Patrick Beverley, who figures to be one of those starters with George and Leonard, brought a regular-season mentality to a preseason game.
Trailing 18-10 after Harden served up an alley-oop dunk to Clint Capela, Beverley took on Harden half-court and chested up the 2018 NBA Most Valuable Player.
The two went at it, with both pleading for calls from the referees before Beverley was substituted for at the 4:29 mark.
He didn’t take a shot in 12 minutes, but could be the perfect complementary player to George and Leonard, chipping in six rebounds, two assists and even a block.
“I thought it was competitive,’ Rivers said. “I didn’t think we played well continuity wise. In practice I thought the ball was humming, and in the game I thought the ball was stuck a lot.”