SAN FRANCISCO — It’s not how you start your LA Clippers debut. It’s how you finish it.
A former two-time All-Star with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Darius Garland’s first assignment for the Clippers was to come off the bench for the first time in nearly five years while on a minutes restriction. In the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center, Garland had his dribble taken by small forward Moses Moody, got trapped coming off a screen by center Al Horford, and then was stripped from behind by two-way contract wing Nate Williams.
“Yeah, I wasn’t expecting to get a blitz after a month off,” Garland said postgame, both legs soaking in a bucket of ice water at his locker. “But Steve Kerr always got something up under his sleeve.”
After a scoreless first quarter, Garland — who was traded for future Hall of Famer James Harden on Feb. 4 — found his rhythm in his first game action since Jan. 14. When Garland used a Brook Lopez screen to find space for a pull-up 3-pointer, he later said it felt like a turning point.
“I was like ‘All right, I think I knocked the cobwebs off a little bit,’” he said.
The Clippers trailed 56-42 at halftime on the second night of a back-to-back. But they outscored the Warriors 72-45 in the second half, including 40-14 in the paint, to secure a significant 114-101 win. Garland finished with 12 points, two assists and a steal in 23 minutes, overcoming five turnovers to help LA outscore the Warriors by 5 points in his minutes.
Not bad, considering that Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said that the Warriors’ shape-shifting defense prevented the Clippers from running the plays they wanted to use for Garland, who had only played in 26 games this season because of toe issues.
“In the second half, the adjustment was just single pick, middle of the floor, let him go either way, let him operate, and that’s what really turned him loose,” said Lue, who used Garland to enhance bench lineups that included fellow newcomer Bennedict Mathurin, rookie center Yanic Konan Niederhäuser, and young wing Jordan Miller. “In that first half, you haven’t played in a while, and as soon as you come out, they blitz you every time out,” Lue said. “It’s a tough position to be in. But I thought in the second half, he found his rhythm a little better.”
All-Star small forward Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 23 points on 9 of 14 field goals, extending his streak of scoring at least 20 points to 38 consecutive games despite attempting his second-fewest field goals and second-fewest free throws (2 of 2) during the streak. Kris Dunn started at point guard and had 16 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two 3s, as the Clippers outscored the Warriors by a game-best 18 points in Dunn’s 26 minutes.
The 26-year-old Garland didn’t play with Leonard in the first quarter and didn’t play with Dunn in the first half. But all of Garland’s minutes in the second half came with either Leonard or Dunn, and the Clippers outscored the Warriors by 16 points in Garland’s second-half minutes.
“That second half, that’s when it really started rolling,” Garland said. “KD came in, got some really big steals. Jordan … Yanic played his butt off. And ‘whi gonna be ‘whi, of course.”
One of Garland’s more curious plays came when he got a defensive rebound and pushed the pace, with Leonard screaming down the floor to Garland’s right. Leonard pointed to the basket while in stride as if to ask for a lob, and Garland obliged, attempting to look Draymond Green off before serving an offering to the rim. Green wasn’t fooled and was guided into Leonard’s body as Leonard failed to control the lob. Fortunately for the Clippers, Garland put back Leonard’s miss.
“I was testing how old he was,” Garland said of his 34-year-old teammate. “Yeah, I just had to test him, but it was like an assist for him, though. So it was cool.”
“It’s hard to judge, but I mean obviously, he did great,” Leonard said of Garland’s debut. “Stayed aggressive. Knocked down some open shots. Just very promising out there. He was very active defensively when guarding some couple of centers in the post. Yeah, I mean, I enjoyed his performance tonight.”
Leonard has played with several standout point guards in his career, starting with Hall of Famer Tony Parker on the San Antonio Spurs. He won a championship with six-time All-Star Kyle Lowry and one-time All-Star Fred VanVleet with the Toronto Raptors, and he teamed up with veterans Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Reggie Jackson, Rajon Rondo, John Wall, Russell Westbrook, Harden, Ben Simmons and Chris Paul with the Clippers. He is certainly qualified to discuss the key traits required for that position.
“Number one, just competitive nature,” Leonard said. “But every situation is different. So from Darius, we’re looking at him to get us involved, get him some shots. Pushing the pace in transition for us. And just getting everybody involved and calling sets so we’re not stagnant at times. So I think he’s able to do that. He’s an All-Star player.
“Just looking forward to playing more basketball with him. More minutes, as he ramps up to playing 30-plus minutes per game.”
When Garland was introduced to local media at halftime of the Cavaliers-Clippers game the night the trade became official last month, he said he was “super excited” to play with Dunn, saying how “that’s gonna be my backcourt mate … how he’s super aggressive, especially on the defensive side of the ball.”
The Clippers took the lead on the first possession of the fourth quarter when Dunn hit a 3 in front of the Clippers’ bench on a pass served by Garland. And after Garland hit a floater, Dunn ignored Green to pick-six backup Warriors guard Pat Spencer, who was being defended by Garland. That was part of an 8-0 Clippers run, and LA never looked back.
“It was good just to be out there on the floor with big bro,” Garland said of Dunn. “It felt natural, because I’m used to having like a guard with me on the floor at all times. KD’s just like an animal. Got a knack for the ball. So he got two really big steals in that second half that really started to get us going on the offensive end and defensively. And that’s when we turned up from there.
“I had a lot of confidence with KD out on the floor with me, for sure.”
Lue said he wasn’t sure if Garland would stay at 23 minutes per game while he works his way back from offseason toe surgery on his left foot and the Grade 1 toe sprain on his right foot that interrupted the first half of his season with the Cavaliers. It could be another week or two until Garland joins the starting lineup.
But Monday night was a memorable first step, as Garland debuted for a franchise his father, Winston, played for and against the franchise that Winston began his NBA career with. A busy March for the Clippers will continue with Garland’s home debut against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, before LA goes back on the road for another back-to-back that will likely see Garland play on national TV in San Antonio before resting against the Memphis Grizzlies.
“Just getting adjusted,” Garland said. “Getting adjusted to L.A., getting to know the guys. Getting to know the staff, everybody around the organization, and just trying to get back to me. Getting healthy — training staff been with me a lot and doing a lot of work. So I really appreciate them, just getting me back to this point. Yeah, man, it’s good getting out there with the guys for sure. Especially getting a win, my first win with the Clips. It’s a blessing.”