LOS ANGELES — White AirPods in his ears, his gaze locked onto the Sacramento highlights playing on a locker-room television, Russell Westbrook bobbed his head Friday night at a locker a few feet down the Crypto.com Arena hallway from his old one.
Situated within new digs and a new offense and surrounded by new teammates, the former Los Angeles Laker and newest Los Angeles Clipper prepared for his first opportunity to show a new side: One in which the former most valuable player could quell his most damaging traits, emphasize his most useful, all while raising the Clippers’ potential.
What followed was the highest-scoring game in Clippers history, one displaying two overtimes, zero defense, Kawhi Leonard’s entire offensive arsenal and the full Westbrook experience, his imprint left all over the debut of his fifth team in five seasons in ways that ran the spectrum from positive to puzzling in a 176-175 loss.
Westbrook cut into the lane with his drives, drawing a foul on his first foray into the paint. Just as important was what he cut out — the pull-up jump shots that rarely fell during his season-and-a-half in purple and gold. He tried setting screens, so often a rarity of his game, even if they led to a pair of illegal defense calls, and pushed the ball upcourt when given a sliver of room. To close a breakneck first half, Westbrook scored a left-handed finger-roll layup, then his drive in transition created enough room to dump off a pass to Norman Powell, whose three-pointer set a Clippers season high for points before halftime, at 80.
It was only the 10th time in franchise history scoring 80 or more in a half, and only the second time this season two teams had each scored 75 or more in a half. With defense optional for both teams, before the fourth quarter had even begun, Westbrook had already become the first Clipper to record at least 10 assists in their team debut since Sam Cassell, 18 years before.
But with the Clippers leading Sacramento 153-150 with only 8.5 seconds left in regulation and coach Tyronn Lue opting not to foul, Westbrook guarded inbounds passer Malik Monk, then turned his head to watch De’Aaron Fox dribble long enough to lose Monk beyond the far three-point line. It was enough time for Monk to get off the a shot to send a game that had been an 11-point Clippers lead three minutes earlier into overtime, as Westbrook scrambled to challenge the shot.
In overtime, Westbrook’s corner three-pointer pushed the lead to four, and when Paul George missed two free throws, a putback by Nicolas Batum extended it to six with three minutes left.
Again, the Clippers could not hold it. Improving their late-game offensive execution was one reason the team sought Westbrook’s ballhandling experience, but a possession of isolation yielded a missed jumper by George, and missed putback by Leonard, and a second overtime period was required.
In the second overtime, the Clippers couldn’t keep pace with the Kings in a contest that turned into the second-highest scoring game in NBA history. Leonard finished with 44 points, George had 34 and Westbrook had 17.
For the Clippers’ big gamble on Westbrook to pay off, it will likely need to include more nights like Friday, where Westbrook plays the role of contributor but not star — relying on him to be helper, but not savior — deferring to teammates on a roll such as Leonard, who returned from the league’s All-Star break by scoring 21 points in the third quarter.
His scoring burst included six three-pointers, the last when Leonard dribbled on one defender, Monk, and fired a three-pointer as a second, Trey Lyles, rushed over for help in vain. When double-teams followed again on the next two possessions, Leonard’s passes led to a pull-up jumper by Marcus Morris Sr. and, then, an open corner three-pointer by Batum, the offense running as efficiently as it had all season.
For all of the spotlight on Westbrook and what his addition could mean, he represents just one question the Clippers must answer to realize their title ambitions. Even more were revealed Friday.
Leading by 11 with 3:18 left, the Clippers turned the ball over on four consecutive possessions — turnovers by Westbrook, two by George and an offensive foul by Powell — then missed a shot on a fifth to see their lead sliced to 147-146 with only 82 seconds to play.
The implications on the standings made this no minor occasion to introduce a new player, let alone two new starters.
The Kings are third in the Western Conference standings, two places ahead of the Clippers.
Mason Plumlee — all of three games into his own short-lived Clippers tenure — took the place of center Ivica Zubac, who is considered day to day after injuring a leg last week in Phoenix. Plumlee’s poke of the ball from behind on Kings center Domantas Sabonis forced a turnover that resulted in Westbrook’s first Clippers basket, a layup, midway through the first quarter.
During what Clippers brass called honest, up-front conversations with Westbrook before his buyout in Utah earlier this month, the team never promised Westbrook a starting role, but his relationship with Lue, and the coach’s rock-solid trust in Westbrook even though the Lakers were happy to move on from him after 130 games, made his debut as a starter likely ever since he officially signed his rest-of-season contract for the league minimum Wednesday afternoon.
But there was another factor, too: If the Clippers were going to remove Terance Mann in favor of Westbrook, they might as well have done it immediately rather than delay the test at a time when time is most precious, with only 20 games remaining.
“We don’t have a lot of time to really experiment,” Lue said before tipoff,” because we still got to win games.”
