LOS ANGELES — Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said it would take, in his estimation, six to eight games for their three new players to fully acclimate into the rotation, to understand the offense and their defensive schemes.
But with just 22 games remaining in the regular season, Lue doesn’t have the luxury of a lengthy discourse on Clippers basketball. The newcomers need to be quick learners.
“We don’t have a long time, like you said, only having 23 games left,” Lue said, “so, we got to make sure that we’re trying to incorporate these guys or incorporate different lineups and situations, but also make sure we’re winning games and so that’s the most important thing.”
Newcomers Bones Hyland, Eric Gordon and Mason Plumlee got their first test Tuesday night, each playing significant minutes in a 134-124 victory over the Golden State Warriors that moved the Clippers (32-28) back into fifth place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of Dallas (31-28).
But when it came down to it, it was the regulars who keyed the Clippers’ victory, snapping their two-game losing streak.
Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points on 12-of-17 shooting, including a career-high-tying seven 3-pointers. Norman Powell came off the bench to score 24 points, Paul Goerge had 20 points and eight assists and Terance Mann added 16 points, four rebounds and six assists.
Still, as far as debuts go, Hyland, Plumlee and Gordon each had several highlight moments and a few expected lowlights.
Hyland’s offensive rebound and layup gave the Clippers a 96-89 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter. But Hyland also found himself with three fouls in the first half and picked up two more in the second half, limiting him to 15 minutes.
With his long reach, Plumlee snagged the ball in midair and quickly moved toward the basket before passing it off. He didn’t have any points or rebounds in his first eight minutes but finished with eight points and five rebounds in 17 minutes.
Gordon…
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