The Clippers on Wednesday night began a slew of games in which their fortitude was expected to be tested.
They are in this situation because of the devastating wildfires that rampaged across the Los Angeles area and caused the postponement of a Clippers game and forced the NBA to reschedule other games.
So the Clippers were set to play six games over nine days, starting with their 126-67 beatdown of the Brooklyn Nets at the Intuit Dome, the largest margin of victory in franchise history,
Kawhi Leonard played 23 minutes 49 seconds and scored 23 points, both season highs. He was eight for 11 from the field while leading the Clippers in scoring.
James Harden had 21 points, 11 assists and six rebounds in a game the Clippers led by as many as 64 points. He has 26,681 points over his 16-year career, pushing him past Dominique Wilkins for 15th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
When the NBA announced its rescheduling of games earlier Wednesday, it meant the Clippers would play five games next week that include two sets of back-to-backs.
The Chicago Bulls game that was scheduled for Wednesday was moved to Monday, and it will be a back-to-back game because the Clippers host the Lakers on Sunday night.
A game against the Washington Wizards, originally scheduled for March 16, will be played Jan. 23 and it comes a day after the Clippers host the defending champion Boston Celtics in yet another back-to-back.
The Clippers end next week with a home game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Jan. 25.
The game against Charlotte that was postponed last Saturday has been rescheduled for March 16. The game at Utah set for Feb. 13 has been moved to March 19.
Tickets for those games will be honored on the rescheduled dates.
With Leonard playing in just his fourth game of the season, the Clippers will be cautious with their star over this stretch. In fact, coach Tyronn Lue said the medical staff will put together a plan.
Part of that is not having Leonard play Thursday at Portland.
“We’ve played, I think, pretty much the top-two hardest schedule in the league so far this year. It just adds to it,” Lue said. “So, we just got to take it game by game. Can’t fall victim to the schedule. It’s out of the NBA’s hands what happened to our city and so we understand that. So, we just got to lock in, take it game by game.”
Clippers wingman Terance Mann, who didn’t play Monday night against Miami, didn’t play in the second half against the Nets because of left calf soreness. Mann had five points before he left.