<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-clippers/nba-rumors-clippers-stance-trading-ivica-zubac-kevin-durant-deal');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Clippers’ stance on trading Ivica Zubac in Kevin Durant deal');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Kevin-Durant-Ivica-Zubac.jpg"><figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Clippers’ stance on trading Ivica Zubac in Kevin Durant deal</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-16T10:05:30-07:00">June 16th, 10:05am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-16T10:05:30-07:00">June 16th, 10:05am</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is a Senior Editor and College Sports Lead at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Clippers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-rumors-certain-trade-scenarios-kevin-durant-rockets-partnership">Phoenix Suns are trying to get out of the Kevin Durant business</a> this offseason, and naturally there are plenty of teams that would like to get their hands on the former league MVP. The Los Angeles Clippers are one team that can benefit greatly from Durant’s skillset.</p><p>While <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-rumors-heat-rockets-spurs-named-kevin-durant-preferred-trade-destinations">Durant has said that he wants to commit</a> to either the Miami Heat, Houston Rockets or San Antonio Spurs, the Suns still owe it to themselves to pursue the best possible return for him. The Clippers have valuable players and assets that could go back to Phoenix in a Durant trade, including starting center Ivica Zubac.</p><p>Unfortunately for the Suns, the Clippers <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/orlando-memphis-kevin-durant-and?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=166031248&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">aren’t going to want to let go</a> of their emerging big man, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.</p><p>“We’ve been consistently told LA has no desire to part with Ivica Zubac … as much as Phoenix surely covets the consistently improving center,” Fischer wrote. “The Clippers, however, do hold two future first-round picks and some available swap rights to sweeten a potential Durant offer that would almost certainly require the inclusion of Norman Powell, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Derrick Jones Jr.”</p><p>The Clippers have plenty of good reasons for wanting to hold onto Zubac. He has developed from a role player into a two-way force, dominating games on the glass as well as on the defensive end. Offensively, he has great touch around the rim and has become a strong play-finisher around the basket, so he would be an immediate impact player on both ends of the floor.</p><p>Not putting Zubac in a trade will make it very difficult for the Clippers to pull off a Durant trade, but Los Angeles will feel that it is close to competing in the Western Conference either way.</p><p>Despite losing in seven games in the first round of the playoffs to the Denver Nuggets this season, the Clippers were playing some of the best basketball in the NBA during the back half of the season this year. If they can bring back a majority of that core into the 2025-26 season, Tyronn Lue and company will have confidence that they can beat just about anyone.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Clippers’ stance on trading Ivica Zubac in Kevin Durant deal

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-clippers/nikola-jokic-rejects-clippers-ivica-zubac-with-insane-block');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nikola Jokic rejects Clippers’ Ivica Zubac with insane block');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/LA-Clippers-center-Ivica-Zubac-40-and-Denver-Nuggets-center-Nikola-Jokic-15.jpg"><figcaption>Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Nikola Jokic rejects Clippers’ Ivica Zubac with insane block</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-03T17:53:57-07:00">May 3rd, 5:53pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-03T17:59:21-07:00">May 3rd, 5:59pm</time><address><a>Zachary Howell</a>Zachary Howell is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints focusing on creating premier MLB content. He is a big fan of the Yankees, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Syracuse Orange. In his free time, he likes to be outside or read.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Denver Nuggets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets are locked in a battle in Game 7 of their first round series. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-james-harden-reveal-keys-to-must-win-game-7-vs-nuggets">Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers are trying to defeat Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets</a> for the right to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round. Jokic isn’t holding anything back, locking down Ivica Zubac.</p><p>Jokic met Zubac at the rim, rejecting the Clippers center in one of his <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1918827017744564240" rel="noopener">best defensive plays</a> of the season.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Nikola Jokic block<br>Jamal Murray layup</p><p>The Nuggets are doing it ALL in the second quarter of Game 7 😤<a href="https://t.co/UdOSoSk1G0">pic.twitter.com/UdOSoSk1G0</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1918827017744564240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 4, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The Nuggets center isn’t known for his defensive talents, but the reigning MVP made the highlight reel play. He and Denver entered halftime with an 11 point lead. However, Zubac and the Clippers have shown a tendency to come back in the series. They put forth a stellar effort in Game 6 to force the win or go home matchup.</p><p>Leonard, Zubac, and the Clippers rode a dominant second half of the season into the playoffs. Denver, on the other hand, heavily relied on Jokic to carry them to the postseason. The back and forth between each squad has made the series one of the most intense matchups of the first round in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.</p><p>Both teams have championship aspirations, but only one will advance to try to make them a reality.</p><p>The energy in Ball arena is palpable as both teams try to come out on top in the series’ final game. Regardless of which squad comes out on top, their series will be remembered for its star power. There are four MVP trophies between each team; two for Jokic and one apiece for James Harden and Russell Westbrook.</p><p>The winner of Game 7 is rewarded with a date against the Thunder in the second round. Oklahoma City is one of the best teams in the NBA behind presumptive MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. That being said, both the Nuggets and Clippers believe they have what it takes to advance.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nikola Jokic rejects Clippers’ Ivica Zubac with insane block

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/atlanta-hawks/hawks-news-dyson-daniels-beats-ivica-zubac-most-improved-player-award');   ga('set', 'title', 'Hawks’ Dyson Daniels beats Ivica Zubac for Most Improved Player award');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Dyson-Daniels-beats-Ivica-Zubac-for-Most-Improved-Player-award-1.jpg"></figure><h1>Hawks’ Dyson Daniels beats Ivica Zubac for Most Improved Player award</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-30T16:05:13-07:00">April 30th, 4:05pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-30T16:07:43-07:00">April 30th, 4:07pm</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Hawks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels has been named the recipient of the George Mikan Trophy as the <a href="https://x.com/NBAPR/status/1917716444537594118" rel="noopener">2024-25 Kia NBA Most Improved Player</a>, the league announced on Wednesday night.</p><p>As a result of receiving more votes than Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac and Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, Daniels become only the second player in Hawks history to be named the league’s Most Improved Player. He joins Alan Henderson (1998-98) as the only other winner of the award in team history.</p><p>Daniels, 22, had a breakthrough season with the Hawks, averaging career highs in points (14.1), rebounds (5.9), assists (4.4), and steals (3.0). The Hawks guard also led the league in steals per game and total steals (229) this season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the next closest player with 131 total steals.</p><p>Only 30 players in NBA history have ever recorded 220 or more steals in a single season, and Daniels is now one of them. He is the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/atlanta-hawks/hawks-news-dyson-daniels-becomes-youngest-nba-player-ever-to-reach-bonkers-milestone">youngest player in league history</a> (22) to record 200 or more steals in a season.</p><p>After being traded from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Hawks in the offseason deal that sent Dejounte Murray to the Pels, Daniels made a name for himself early on in Atlanta with his defensive instincts.</p><p>While he always had the potential to be a two-way threat at either guard position, Daniels was never given a chance to prove his worth in New Orleans. With the Hawks having a clear need for another next to Trae Young, the former eighth-overall pick instantly became a fan favorite in Atlanta due to his length and ability to push the ball in transition off turnovers.</p><p>As a result, he was nicknamed <i>The Great Barrier Thief. </i>Daniels was also in the running for the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award, which Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley won. The Hawks guard finished second in the voting behind Mobley, receiving 25 of 100 first-place votes for Defensive Player of the Year.</p><p>Although a case could be made for several players around the league to win the 2024-25 Most Improved Player award, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/atlanta-hawks/hawks-news-quin-snyder-strong-dyson-daniels-message-most-improved">Daniels stuck out in this race</a> because he went from being a player on the end of New Orleans’ bench to starting for the Hawks and becoming one of the best defensive players in the league.</p><p>“I think if you just study not only the defense but the way he’s driving the ball, the way he’s shooting the ball,” Hawks head coach Quin Snyder said of Daniels this season. “Sometimes, you watch him, and he’s playing with the level of confidence that has developed over the course of the season. Usually, with those things, it’s a lot of players that are deserving, and I certainly feel like he’s one of them.”</p><p>Daniels received 44 of the 100 first-place votes for Most Improved Player. Zubac finished second with 23 first-place votes, followed by Cunningham in third with 15 first-place votes.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Hawks’ Dyson Daniels beats Ivica Zubac for Most Improved Player award

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-clippers/are-norman-powell-ivica-zubac-playing-tonight-clippers-kings-injury-report');   ga('set', 'title', 'Are Norman Powell, Ivica Zubac playing tonight? Clippers vs. Kings injury report');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Powell-and-Zubac.jpg"><figcaption>Dec 19, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA;  LA Clippers center Ivica Zubac (40) celebrates with LA Clippers guard Norman Powell (24) and LA Clippers guard Kris Dunn (8) against the Dallas Mavericks during the second half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Are Norman Powell, Ivica Zubac playing tonight? Clippers vs. Kings injury report</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-11T06:00:56-07:00">April 11th, 6:00am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-11T07:08:41-07:00">April 11th, 7:08am</time><address><a>Erik Slater</a>Erik Slater is the credentialed Brooklyn Nets beat reporter for ClutchPoints. He's a graduate of Lehigh University and the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University, as well as a Lehigh Football and Syracuse Football alum.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Clippers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting/clippers-vs-kings-prediction-odds-pick-spread-4-11-2025">Los Angeles Clippers will visit the Sacramento Kings</a> on Friday night at Golden 1 Center. Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac <a href="https://ak-static.cms.nba.com/referee/injury/Injury-Report_2025-04-11_07AM.pdf" rel="noopener">are questionable on the team’s injury report</a>. Powell is dealing with right shoulder soreness, while Zubac has a right ankle sprain.</p><p>Here’s everything we know about both players’ injuries and playing statuses vs. the Kings.</p><p><i><b>*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV <a href="https://www.fubo.tv/lp/nba/?irad=356361&amp;irmp=492408" rel="noopener sponsored">(Get Access | Save $30)</a>*</b></i></p><h2>Norman Powell, Ivica Zubac injury status vs. Kings</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Powell.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Powell missed Wednesday’s 134-117 win over the Houston Rockets due to his shoulder ailment. Zubac played 35 minutes during the victory, posting 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists on 9-of-13 shooting but appearing on the Clippers’ injury report afterward. Questionable tags indicate both players are managing injuries but will have a chance to suit up vs. the Kings.</p><p>Powell and Zubac have been two of the NBA’s top breakout players this season. The former has played a pivotal role in replacing Paul George’s offensive production, averaging 22.1 points per game on 49/42/81 shooting splits. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-norman-powell-nba-all-star-this-season-numbers-back-up">Powell is one of four players</a> averaging 20-plus points on that efficiency or better, alongside Kevin Durant, Karl-Anthony Towns and Zach LaVine.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/exclusive-ivica-zubac-reveals-harden-voice-fueling-award-worthy-season">Zubac has emerged as a two-way force</a> for Los Angeles. The 27-year-old has averaged career-highs across the board with 16.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 blocks per game on 62.6 percent shooting. Zubac, Nikola Jokic and Domantas Sabonis are the NBA’s only players averaging over 16 points and 12 rebounds on 55 percent shooting or better.</p><p>Nicolas Batum will be sidelined for the Kings matchup due to a right groin strain.</p><p>Friday’s game will have significant playoff seeding ramifications. The Clippers hold the same record as the Denver Nuggets (48-32) but sit in fifth place due to a tiebreaker. Both teams are one game ahead of the Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves. If the season ended today, Los Angeles would face Denver in the 4-5 matchup ahead of a likely second-round meeting with the Oklahoma City Thunder.</p><p>Tyronn Lue’s squad has won 16 of its last 19 games, ranking first in offense, third in defense and first in net rating (14.1).</p><p>Meanwhile, the Kings are fighting to maintain home court in the 9-10 play-in game. They hold a one-game lead over the Dallas Mavericks entering Friday’s Clippers matchup. Sacramento has won three of its last four games following a 4-12 stretch.</p><p>Malik Monk (Left Calf; Strain) and Jake LaRavia (Left Thumb; Incomplete Scaphoid Fracture) will be sidelined vs. Los Angeles. Keegan Murray (Lower Back; Inflammation) is questionable.</p><p>So, regarding whether Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac are playing tonight vs. the Kings, the Clippers shouldn’t put either player out there if they are at risk for further injury. However, a win would go a long way toward solidifying their playoff seeding outside of the play-in tournament.</p><h2><b>Clippers injury report</b></h2><p>Nicolas Batum: Out – Injury/Illness – Right Groin; Strain</p><p>Amir Coffey: Out – Injury/Illness – Left Knee; Inflammation</p><p>Patty Mills: Out – Injury/Illness – N/a; Illness</p><p>Norman Powell: Questionable – Injury/Illness – Right Shoulder; Soreness</p><p>Ivica Zubac: Questionable – Injury/Illness – Right Ankle; Sprain</p><h2><b>Kings injury report</b></h2><p>Isaiah Crawford: Out – G League – Two-Way</p><p>Mason Jones: Out – G League – Two-Way</p><p>Jake LaRavia: Out – Injury/Illness – Left Thumb; Incomplete Scaphoid Fracture</p><p>Malik Monk: Out – Injury/Illness – Left Calf; Strain</p><p>Keegan Murray: Questionable – Injury/Illness – Lower Back; Inflammation</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Are Norman Powell, Ivica Zubac playing tonight? Clippers vs. Kings injury report

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-ivica-zubac-reacts-to-first-career-triple-double');   ga('set', 'title', 'Clippers’ Ivica Zubac reacts to first career triple double');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Los-Angeles-Clippers-Ivica-Zubac-James-Harden.jpg"></figure><h1>Clippers’ Ivica Zubac reacts to first career triple double</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-10T19:46:04-07:00">April 10th, 7:46pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-10T19:46:45-07:00">April 10th, 7:46pm</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a>Tomer Azarly is in his ninth season as the LA Clippers beat writer and NBA reporter for ClutchPoints. From the Lob City era to the Kawhi Leonard-James Harden era, he brings you everything you need to know about the Clippers as well as coast-to-coast coverage of the NBA.In his free time, Tomer likes to play basketball, video games, and draw.You can follow his Twitter and Instagram for all Clippers content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac is having a career year, but you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/gaming/nba-2k25-april-player-ratings-kawhi-leonard-ja-morant-tyrese-haliburton">predicted this kind of season</a> for the Croatian big man.</p><p>Zubac has recorded three straight 20-point, 10-rebound games, including his first career triple-double in the Clippers’ win over the Houston Rockets on <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-alperen-sengun-fred-vanvleet-injury-updates-clippers-clinching-no-2-seed">Wednesday night</a>.</p><h2><b>Ivica Zubac reacts to first career triple double</b></h2><p>The Clippers defeated the Rockets on the second night of a back-to-back set on Wednesday, 134-117. James Harden scored a game-high 35 points to go along with 10 assists in the victory.</p><p>But it was the big performance by Ivica Zubac that had fans screaming, “ZUUU!” over the final few minutes of the game.</p><p>Zubac recorded 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists in 35 minutes of play in the win over the Rockets. It was the first career triple-double for the nine-year NBA veteran and also marked a new career-high with 10 assists.</p><p>“I wanted it,” Ivica Zubac admitted after the game. “Ty Lue wanted to sub me out and everyone was like, ‘no no no!’ and he asked me and I’m like, ‘I’ll stay.'”</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Ivica-Zubac-gives-away-a-signed-basketball-after-a-Clippers-win.jpg"><figcaption>Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Zubac remained in the game with Derrick Jones Jr., Kobe Brown, Jordan Miller, and fellow Balkan Bogdan Bogdanovic. Out of a sideline out-of-bounds play, <a href="https://twitter.com/LAClippers/status/1910371384553070951" rel="noopener">Zubac and Bogdanovic connected</a> on a dribble-hand-off that saw Bogdanovic immediately pull up for three. After circling around a few times, the ball dropped through the net, giving Zubac his 10th assist of the night.</p><p>“I told Bogie I’ll get it to you and you’ve got to shoot it no matter what. And he did. Bogie is a big time shot maker. I told him he’s never paying at dinner again, but I’m glad he made that shot.</p><p>“I didn’t know if it was ever going to happen, but I always knew I was a solid passer and with teams doubling me now, it’s just playing out of delay action a lot, being involved in a lot of DHO’s, getting in the right angle, having guys like Norm, James, Kawhi, Bogie coming off those DHO’s shooting the ball, going downhill and making shots.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">sorry boss, we're gonna be busy watching Ivica Zubac get his first triple-double on repeat all day 🥹 <a href="https://t.co/dfaw631U28">pic.twitter.com/dfaw631U28</a></p><p>— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) <a href="https://twitter.com/LAClippers/status/1910371384553070951?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The triple-double in the teams’ final home game at Intuit Dome was a perfect cap to what’s been a career year for Ivica Zubac and, by many accounts, a surprisingly strong year for the Clippers.</p><p>“It felt great,” Zubac added. “I don’t know if its perfect, but it felt great. We’ve been great at home the whole year. The fans have been amazing, we’ve got a real home-court advantage, and it feels great in the last regular season game to finish with a big triple-double.”</p><p>Zubac has a double-double in 13 straight games, which is a new career-high for the Clippers center. He’s also recorded 57 double-doubles this season while playing a new career-high 78 games and 32.6 minutes per contest.</p><p>“I’ve said it numerous times,” James Harden said after the win. “Zu has been playing unbelievable. For him to get to his first career triple-double is unbelievable.”</p><p>The Clippers will now take on the Sacramento Kings on Friday night before playing against the Golden State Warriors in the final game of the 2024-25 NBA regular season.</p><p>With the Warriors falling to the San Antonio Spurs at the buzzer on Wednesday night, the Clippers control their destiny for a top seed in the Western Conference. There are numerous tiebreaker scenarios still left to watch unfold, but the Clippers are in prime position to finish top five or potentially even host a playoff series.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Clippers’ Ivica Zubac reacts to first career triple double

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-clippers/exclusive-ivica-zubac-reveals-harden-voice-fueling-award-worthy-season');   ga('set', 'title', 'Exclusive: Ivica Zubac reveals how James Harden, ‘voice’ are fueling award-worthy season');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Why-Clippers-Ivica-Zubac-is-the-NBAs-Most-Improved-Player.jpg"></figure><h1>Exclusive: Ivica Zubac reveals how James Harden, ‘voice’ are fueling award-worthy season</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-04T14:32:05-07:00">April 4th, 2:32pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-04T14:33:37-07:00">April 4th, 2:33pm</time><address><a>Kris Pursiainen</a>Kris Pursiainen is an Associate Editor for all sports based in the NJ/NYC area. Kris brings several years of experience reporting on and writing about professional teams to the table. With experience all over the country as a New York Knicks, New York Jets, New York Mets, Super Bowl LVIII, and Big East beat reporter, Kris has been breaking news and reporting on the NBA, NFL, MLB, and college basketball landscapes for years. Kris is a proud graduate of Fordham University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The 2024-25 NBA regular season ends on April 13. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/nba-mvp-mondays-24-25-shai-gilgeous-alexander-unanimous">Candidate pools for season awards have become shortlists</a>, and time is dwindling for dark horses to stake their claims. Looking across the league, a player with notable cases to win various awards—Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac—has not received much attention for their growth at all. Is it too late to point it out?</p><p>Zubac is the first player to record 50 double-doubles in a season for the franchise since Blake Griffin in 2011. The big man is averaging a career-best 16.5 points per game heading into Friday’s bout with the Dallas Mavericks. His average of 11.7 points last season, his seventh in the NBA, was his highest at the time. It won’t be for long.</p><p>Zubac’s growth on the offensive end of the floor involves more than scoring. His playmaking for others has resulted in an average of 2.5 assists per game, almost double his career average of 1.3.</p><p>“I think it’s just me getting more touches in the post,” Ivica Zubac told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview. “Most of the teams now, they send a double team – so it’s just kind of reading the game, you know?”</p><p>The numbers back his claim up. With 304 post touches, he’s <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/playtype-post-up?SeasonYear=2024-25&amp;PerMode=Totals">the only NBA player with more</a> than <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/nba-mvp-mondays-24-25-why-lebron-james-deserves-top-5">MVP-candidate Nikola Jokic</a>. He had just 91 last year in 68 games. Zubac was proud to say that having James Harden as a teammate has also helped him show his playmaking prowess.</p><p>“A lot of teams double James in pick-and-roll, and I get the ball in the short roll,” Zubac explained to ClutchPoints. “And we play 4 against 3. I feel like I’m one of the best in the league in having the ball in short roll and playmaking out of that.” </p><p>The <a href="https://dunksandthrees.com/player/1627826/historical" rel="noopener">“Offensive Estimated Plus-Minus” metric</a> popular among NBA teams shows Zubac’s season as the second-most impactful of his eight-year career thus far, other than his 2020 campaign during which he only played 18 minutes per game.</p><h2><b>How Ivica Zubac has grown into his role as the Clippers’ anchor</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Why-Clippers-Ivica-Zubac-is-NBAs-Most-Improved-Player.jpg"><figcaption>Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Zubac told ClutchPoints that his additions to his offensive arsenal are the best examples of his growth this season. After noticing teams adjust to his post-ups, which he says truly began last year, he realized he needed counters.</p><p>“I spent a lot of time just working on my counters over my right shoulder that I think are really helping me right now,” Zubac explained. “And teams can’t really be like, ‘just send him to his left.’ Because now I can shoot with both hands.”</p><p>Anchors have to rebound, too. Zubac feels he and the Clippers as a team have grown significantly in that regard.</p><p>“I think I improved in defensive rebounding, a lot,” Zubac attested. “Last year we were one of the worst rebounding teams, this year I think we’re #1 or #2 in defensive rebounding rate. There’s a lot of little things.”</p><p>Right again. The Clippers were 23rd in defensive rebounding rate last season. This year, they’re <a href="https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stat/defensive-rebounding-pct?date=2025-04-03" rel="noopener">only behind the Orlando Magic.</a>  Zubac himself <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/rebounding?PerMode=Totals&amp;dir=D&amp;sort=REB" rel="noopener">leads the entire league</a> in both total rebounds and contested rebounds. Zubac had the NBA’s most double-doubles in March with 15. And he’s averaging the <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/stats/player/_/stat/double-doubles/table/general/sort/doubleDouble/dir/desc" rel="noopener">fourth most double-doubles this season</a>.</p><p>Los Angeles is 12-3 in its last 15 games and has the NBA’s fourth-best defensive rating in that stretch. But it’s not small sample size theater. Their season results are even more impressive; the team has the third-best defensive rating overall.</p><p>Centers are generally impactful enough on defense to be the only position that “Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus” is able to well-encapsulate the impact of. Zubac has the highest D-EPM of any center. Excluding players ineligible for awards, he’s rated fifth overall in the league.</p><p>Teams are averaging 6.7 fewer points per 100 possessions played when Zubac is in, <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/4145/onoff#tab-team_efficiency" rel="noopener">per Cleaning the Glass</a>. He’s playing 32.7 minutes per game, over four more than his previous career-high in 2022-23. But he’s only committing 2.2 fouls per game, tied for the third-lowest of his career.</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-03-at-2.26.08%E2%80%AFAM.png"><figcaption>Credit: DARKO</figcaption></figure><p>Filtering out players that play fewer than 10 minutes per game and looking at another defensive metric, DARKO D-DPM, the scatterplot above shows Zubac as having the league’s third-highest rating. And he’s fouling less than every leading candidate for Defensive Player of the Year.</p><p>Zubac didn’t know he was committing fewer fouls than the season before for the second straight year. His reaction to the news was just a pleased, “Nice.”</p><p>But he then explained that there hasn’t been a specific effort to produce those results.</p><p>“Experience, kind of anticipating everything, just trying to be a step ahead – one second ahead – reading the game and knowing what’s going to happen,” the center shared. “I never came into the game thinking, like, ‘oh, I can’t foul,’ you know? I’ve never had that mentality. I always want to make the right play.”</p><h2><b>How Ivica Zubac found his voice after being traded by the Lakers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Ivica-Zubac-vocal-Clippers.jpg"><figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Making an All-Defensive Team has been a goal of Zubac’s for years. Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said before the season that <a href="https://x.com/NotoriousOHM/status/1847142372519350446" rel="noopener">the big man should go for the Defensive Player of the Year</a> award. But aside from the obvious benefits, the motivation behind Zubac’s defensive progress stems from his desire to prove draft doubters wrong.</p><p>“Before I got drafted, all the scouts, draft analysts, they all were saying I can’t defend,” Zubac told ClutchPoints. “‘I’m a bad rim protector, bad pick-and-roll defender, bad defender in general’. So it was my goal from the beginning of my career to just kind of get better on that end, prove people wrong, and show that I can play both ways.”</p><p>That wasn’t the only time Zubac has made the most of an unfavorable situation. He was traded early in his career in a rare crosstown deal from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Clippers in 2019. And much like a student before their first day of school, he was eager to make a good first impression.</p><p>“That first practice, I was like, ‘Ok, I’m gonna be a starter from now on, I’m starting with a clean slate, I’m gonna be vocal as possible,'” Zubac recalled.</p><p>The precedent was set by veterans from the start of Zubac’s career. He credited Lakers teammates Tyson Chandler and Andrew Bogut as well as Patrick Beverley from his first couple of seasons on the Clippers.</p><p>Zubac told ClutchPoints that players either have it in them to be vocal or they don’t. And that the reason he made it part of his identity as a Clippers center was simple.</p><p>“I’ve seen throughout my career that all the good defenders are vocal,” Zubac revealed. “And if I wanted to be one, I had to be vocal too.”</p><h2><b>The key influences behind Ivica Zubac’s career season</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Jeff-Van-Gundy-Clippers.jpg"><figcaption>Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Between Harden, Lue, opposing defenses keying in on his signature post hook, and draft analysts, Zubac’s development over the course of his career can be traced back to countless sources of inspiration.</p><p>But there are two new factors, only relevant to this season, that Zubac considers major advantages. The first is the additional 10 pounds he told ClutchPoints he gained in the offseason.</p><p>“I feel strong, moving guys,” Zubac noted. “I can move a lot of guys out of the way and it’s been really showing this year.”</p><p>The second is the addition the Clippers made to their coaching staff last offseason. By <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-jeff-van-gundy-agrees-join-ty-lue-coaching-staff-lead-assistant">hiring Jeff Van Gundy as Lue’s lead assistant</a>, the organization added 11 years of NBA head coaching experience to their bench.</p><p>Zubac singled Van Gundy out as the individual he’d credit most for his growth this season, saying that the coach only directs the Clippers’ defense but has had a significant impact.</p><p>“JVG for sure,” Zubac began. “He trains our defense…we changed all the basics of our defense and he’s really asking a lot from me, we’re communicating a lot, he’s pushing me.”</p><p>Zubac clarified that he isn’t the only player that Van Gundy has helped become more impactful.</p><p>“He’s never satisfied,” Zubac said of the coach. “Even when we keep teams under 100 points, he always finds stuff where we can get better. I think he really helped everyone on the team this year defensively.”</p><p>Ivica Zubac has played <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/LAC/leaders_career.html" rel="noopener">463 total games</a> for the Clippers in his career, the <a href="https://x.com/FlyByKnite/status/1905043214983471489" rel="noopener">eighth most in franchise history</a>. He has played in 74 of their 76 games this season and has intriguing candidacies for the Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player awards as well as an All-Defensive team.</p><p>He may not have won a single one of the NBA’s “Defensive Player of the Month” designations this season. But he’s one of four Clippers averaging over 15 points per game and also serves as their lynchpin on defense. Zubac is one of the best developmental stories across the entire NBA.</p><p>Just don’t ask him to choose which end of the floor he thinks he’s improved the most on overall.</p><p>“No, I would say- yeah,” Zubac began. “I would say both ends, yeah.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Exclusive: Ivica Zubac reveals how James Harden, ‘voice’ are fueling award-worthy season

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-ivica-zubac-react-to-win-over-nba-best-cavs');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac react to Clippers’ win over NBA best Cavs');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Kawhi-Leonard-Ivica-Zubac-Los-Angeles-Clippers-Donovan-Mitchell-Evan-Mobley-Cleveland-Cavaliers-Cavs.jpg"></figure><h1>Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac react to Clippers’ win over NBA best Cavs</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-19T16:08:00-07:00">March 19th, 4:08pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-19T16:09:03-07:00">March 19th, 4:09pm</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a>Tomer Azarly is in his ninth season as the LA Clippers beat writer and NBA reporter for ClutchPoints. From the Lob City era to the Kawhi Leonard-James Harden era, he brings you everything you need to know about the Clippers as well as coast-to-coast coverage of the NBA.In his free time, Tomer likes to play basketball, video games, and draw.You can follow his Twitter and Instagram for all Clippers content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>INGLEWOOD, CA — Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac, and the Los Angeles Clippers came into <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-stone-faced-james-harden-evan-mobley-goes-viral">Tuesday night’s game</a> having won six of their last seven. None of the teams they’d faced, however, were of the caliber of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-evan-mobley-return-boost-clippers">came into the game</a> with a 56-11 record.</p><p>But after Tuesday night, the Clippers put a lot of teams on notice by beating the Cavs.</p><h2><b>Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac react to win over NBA best Cavs</b></h2><p>Behind big nights from their stars, the Clippers defeated Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers, 132-119. It was the second time this season the Clippers had four players score at least 20 points in the same game.</p><p>Kawhi Leonard led the way with 33 points and seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals on 12-of-19 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 from three. Leonard’s 33 points tied a season high, and his five threes marked a new season high.</p><p>Leonard appears to have taken a turn over his last four games, averaging 27.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 3.3 steals per game while shooting 58 percent from the field and 59 percent from three.</p><p>“Just by winning,” <a href="https://x.com/TomerAzarly/status/1902450584424477049" rel="noopener">Leonard said</a> when asked how he’s evaluating his play right now. “I’m not trying to get back to a certain point. it’s about what’s in front of me, and I’ve always said that. It’s nothing to do with the past. It’s just about being better, being better in my role this year and what’s in front of me.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Kawhi Leonard on how he evaluates himself as he's continuing to play better on an individual level:</p><p>“Just by winning. I'm not trying to get back to a certain point. it's about what's in front of me, and I've always said that. It's nothing to do with the past. It's just about… <a href="https://t.co/Ip3SV5GpHp">pic.twitter.com/Ip3SV5GpHp</a></p><p>— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1902450584424477049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The night belonged to one of the Clippers’ two birthday boys in Ivica Zubac.</p><p>Zubac, who turned 28 years of age on Tuesday, recorded 28 points and 20 rebounds. The Clippers big man outscored and outrebounded the Cavs combined frontcourt duo of Jarrett Allen (eight points and eight rebounds) and Evan Mobley (17 points and three rebounds). Kris Dunn also celebrated his birthday Tuesday, turning 31 years of age.</p><p>“We’re not trying to get statement wins,” Ivica Zubac added after the win. “We’re just trying to get wins, and win as many as we can. We think we can play against anyone when we’re at our best and I think we showed that tonight. That’s the best team in the league right there, best record in the league. We had a great second half, came back, played some good defense in the second half and we showed that we can play against everyone.”</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Clippers-Ivica-Zubac-against-the-Lakers.jpg"><figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>James Harden scored 22 points and dished nine assists in the win, as the Clippers improved to 17-1 when Harden attempts at least 10 free throws in a game.</p><p>Bogdan Bogdanovic finished Tuesday’s win with 20 points and seven assists off the Clippers bench in a perfect 8-of-8 shooting night, which included four three-pointers. Bogdanovic became the fourth guard in Clippers history to record a 20-point game on 100 percent shooting from the field, joining Terance Mann (2021), Luke Kennard (2021), and Randy Smith (1976).</p><p>“We’re just trying to get better every single game,” <a href="https://x.com/TomerAzarly/status/1902448532545794251">Bogdan Bogdanovic explained</a> after the win. “Offensively, defensively, communication on the floor, and not waste our time on the floor while we’re on the floor, in different kinds of lineups and different roles. I’m just happy that everyone contributed in their roles tonight.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Bogdan Bogdanovic on his comfortability having someone in Ivica Zubac who can speak the same language:</p><p>“If you have a fun time just being here, it helps you compete better. If you're happy in a place you are with the people around you — it's never about location, it's about the… <a href="https://t.co/1jiz53dBdL">pic.twitter.com/1jiz53dBdL</a></p><p>— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1902448532545794251?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Since the All-Star break, Ivica Zubac has been averaging 20.5 points, 12.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 66 percent from the field. He’s recorded three games of 20 points and 20 rebounds, and has missed out on another two 20-20 games by a single rebound.</p><p>“As years go, you get better,” Kawhi Leonard admitted of Ivica Zubac. “He definitely wasn’t ready to get the ball in the earlier years when he was here. Like I said, he progressed, he wasn’t scoring on smalls as easy, getting the ball swiped out of his hands.</p><p>“Now he’s being more aggressive. When it’s two on him, he’s dunking the ball. He’s also being patient in his post-ups. And as you get more touches, you start to get more patient. You don’t feel like, ‘oh, let me score the ball.’ The selfishness, he never was, but you know what I mean, every player feels that way when they get it and now it’s starting to kind of go away and he knows, ‘I’m going to get the ball back so let me pass and score this.’ But it’s just more efficient too, with his hook shots and everything.”</p><p>Winners of seven of their last eight games, the Clippers improved to 39-30, tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the loss column and just one game back of the Golden State Warriors.</p><p>With just 13 games left in the season, every game is a must-win for the Clippers. The team has two games left on this homestand against the Memphis Grizzlies Friday night and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night.</p><p>Despite getting healthy on the court for the team’s win over the Cavs, the Clippers were without head coach Tyronn Lue due to intensified pain in his back. Jeff Van Gundy is also out for the Clippers due to a family medical matter.</p><p>Lue also missed three games last week before returning for the final game of the three-game road trip against the Hawks. His status is still up in the air, as the coach was in visible pain and discomfort during Sunday’s home win against the Charlotte Hornets.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac react to Clippers’ win over NBA best Cavs

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/clippers-news-james-harden-kawhi-leonard-ivica-zubac-react-to-terance-mann-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Clippers James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac react to Terance Mann trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/James-Harden-Ivica-Zubac-Kawhi-Leonard-Terance-Mann-Los-Angeles-Clippers-Atlanta-Hawks.jpg"></figure><h1>Clippers James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac react to Terance Mann trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-10T13:12:56-08:00">February 10th, 1:12pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-10T13:13:20-08:00">February 10th, 1:13pm</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a>Tomer Azarly is in his ninth season as the LA Clippers beat writer and NBA reporter for ClutchPoints. From the Lob City era to the Kawhi Leonard-James Harden era, he brings you everything you need to know about the Clippers as well as coast-to-coast coverage of the NBA.In his free time, Tomer likes to play basketball, video games, and draw.You can follow his Twitter and Instagram for all Clippers content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Hawks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Clippers <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-la-makes-surprising-bogdan-bogdanovic-terance-mann-trade-with-hawks">traded away their longest tenured player</a> at the NBA trade deadline. Terance Mann’s departure drew responses from former teammates like James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Ivica Zubac.</p><p>Mann spent his first five seasons with the LA Clippers before being traded in the middle of his sixth season.</p><h2><b>James Harden, Ivica Zubac, Kawhi Leonard react to Terance Mann trade</b></h2><p>Terance Mann was dealt to the Atlanta Hawks on trade deadline day alongside guard Bones Hyland. In exchange, the Clippers acquired veteran guard Bogdan Bogdanovic and three second round picks.</p><p>The deal makes sense for both sides, with the Clippers acquiring a veteran scorer and playmaker while the Hawks added a versatile guard/forward who can do everything, but simply needed consistent minutes.</p><p>Ivica Zubac and Terance Mann were two of the longest tenured Clippers, with Zubac arriving via trade in February 2019 and Mann being drafted four months later. Zubac is also the teammate Mann has played the most games with at 397 across five and a half seasons.</p><p>“Tough, it was tough,” Zubac told ClutchPoints after the Clippers’ weekend win over the Utah Jazz. “That’s my brother. Tough losing him, but happy for him for getting an opportunity over there. Hopefully more consistent and more minutes and we’ve seen over the years what he can do, and hopefully with a more consistent role, he can get back to it.”</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Terance-Mann-faces-up-against-Shaedon-Sharpe-during-the-Clippers-Blazers-game.jpg"><figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Mann averaged 25 minutes per game in the 2023-24 season where he started 71 of the 75 games he appeared in. He was no longer a starter this season and saw his minutes dip to just under 20 per game.</p><p>The Clippers did not want to trade Terance Mann, especially after inking him to a three-year, $47 million contract extension this past summer. The idea was to keep Mann around for a long time, and hopefully have him retire a Clipper. Unfortunately, minutes became incredibly hard to come on this deep of a roster and Mann had fallen out of the rotation.</p><p>“Ever since I stepped foot in here, it’s been all love,” James Harden added postgame. “T-Mann, we sit on the plane together. Sits right next to me literally, so we just talk about everything. And then Bones is somebody that I’ve grown closer with in the sense of just trying to mentor him and teach him the business, that at the end of the day this is a business. Teaching him about his habits, growing in this league, because if you grow with it, you’ll get a lot out of it. But if you don’t, we’ve seen a lot on that end as well. Best of luck to those guys. Hope they continue to be successful and do their thing.”</p><p>Clippers President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank started his post-trade deadline press conference by speaking at length about how much the organization valued Terance Mann and his work ethic over their five plus years together.</p><p>“Trading Terance was extremely difficult,” Lawrence Frank explained. “There’s a reason why Terance is beloved by everyone inside these walls and he’s one of our fan favorites as well.</p><p>“The belief we had when we drafted him, seeing his development from year one and then the breakout,” Lawrence Frank continued on Terance Mann. “You guys remember in the bubble, that last game against Orlando, where he almost had a triple-double. Everyone talks about the 39-point game to get us to Western Conference finals, but it was just the day-to-day consistency of what he brought, it was a model for basically our player development program. He’s very adaptable, being willing to accept any role. I love him and we all love him. He’s a top-shelf human being, a terrific rotational player and I love him, his mom, so that was really challenging and hard. Very thankful [for him].”</p><p>It’s unclear just how much of a role Terance Mann will play for the Atlanta Hawks, but they’re certainly a team that needs help following the season-ending injury to Jalen Johnson and the trade that sent De’Andre Hunter to the Cleveland Cavaliers.</p><p>Kawhi Leonard was another teammate Mann had since the 2019-20 season. When Leonard suffered the torn ACL during the 2021 postseason, it was <a href="https://youtu.be/ioTMmK34ibc">Terance Mann who scored 39 points</a> on 15-of-21 shooting against the Utah Jazz in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p>“He developed well as a player here,” Leonard said of Mann. “He came a long way with shooting and his intensity on the floor. I wish him the best over there. Hopefully he keeps having fun with it.”</p><p>The Hawks already played their long game in Los Angeles, but Atlanta will play host to the LA Clippers on Friday, March 14th at 4:30PM PST.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Clippers James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac react to Terance Mann trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/clippers-news-ivica-zubac-reveals-told-victor-wembanyama-tense-scrap');   ga('set', 'title', 'Clippers’ Ivica Zubac reveals what he told Victor Wembanyama after tense scrap');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Ivica-Zubac-reveals-what-he-told-Victor-Wembanyama-after-tense-scrap.jpg"></figure><h1>Clippers’ Ivica Zubac reveals what he told Victor Wembanyama after tense scrap</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-30T11:04:10-08:00">January 30th, 11:04am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-30T11:10:14-08:00">January 30th, 11:10am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Other Sports</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After a tense moment with San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, LA Clippers center Ivica Zubac revealed what he told the second-year star after the game. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-corrects-reporters-gaffe-postgame-interview">Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers defeated the Spurs</a> 128-116, but before the game ended, Zubac hip-checked Wembanyama to the ground in the third quarter. Victor got up and chased after Ivica before his San Antonio teammates stopped him.</p><p>After the game, Zubac <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DFcCSRVxUuG/?igsh=MXRsbWw1aDl0N3FqZg%3D%3D&amp;img_index=3" rel="noopener">explained</a> why he intentionally bumped Wembanyamba after the play in the third quarter and said he apologized.</p><p>“I reacted a little. I thought I got fouled. I was mad at the refs, and I was late,” Zubac said. “I saw Wemby crashing, and I knew I had to box him out. Bumped a little harder. I let my emotions take over a bit. But I apologized to him. That’s not the way I want to be on the court and compete.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/DFcCSRVxUuG/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading"><div style="padding: 16px;"><p> </p><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div><div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"><div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div><div></div><div></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"><div></div><div></div><div></div></div></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 24px;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div><p> </p><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DFcCSRVxUuG/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" rel="noopener" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Dime (@dimemagazine)</a></p></div></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>Clippers center Ivica Zubac finished with a double-double (21 points, 22 rebounds). Kawhi Leonard’s 27 points led in scoring. Norman Powell also scored 27 points. James Harden also recorded a double-double (21 points, 11 assists). Victor Wembanyama’s 23 points and 23 rebounds led the Spurs.</p><h2><b>Tyronn Lue’s take on James Harden’s triple-double in Clippers win</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Clippers-guard-James-Harden.jpg"><figcaption>Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>LA Clippers head coach <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-james-harden-record-triple-double-gets-hilarious-take-from-tyronn-lue">Tyronn Lue reacted to James Harden’s triple-double</a> in a 110-93 win against the Wizards. Harden got a kick out of his head coach’s comments.</p><p>Lue <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1882922801000222990" rel="noopener">spoke</a> to reporters after the win.</p><p>“To take a guy who’s a dominating scorer who can score 50, 60 points, and then, now, you turn him into a guy who can get you 13, 14 assists,” Lue said. “Rebounding the basketball, I don’t know how he does it by jumping this high on the floor. But somehow, he gets it done. Somehow, he gets it done. He’s just, every time he’s getting better and better at certain things. And it doesn’t surprise me by him climbing the charts as far as triple-doubles. The rebounding a little bit, but the assists and points.”</p><p>Harden laughed loudly while waiting for his turn at the podium.</p><p>“It’s not about how high you jump,” the Clippers’ star responded. “You’ve got to track the ball. I’ve been doing it for a long time. I haven’t been the highest jumping guy my whole life, so I’m figuring out ways to impact the game, and I figure it out. I don’t know.”</p><p>The Clippers will face the Hornets on Friday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Clippers’ Ivica Zubac reveals what he told Victor Wembanyama after tense scrap

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-goes-off-refs-unfair-whistle-after-ivica-zubac-incident');   ga('set', 'title', 'Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama goes off on refs for ‘unfair’ whistle after Ivica Zubac incident');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Victor-Wembanyama-goes-off-on-refs-for-unfair-whistle-after-Ivica-Zubac-incident.jpg"></figure><h1>Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama goes off on refs for ‘unfair’ whistle after Ivica Zubac incident</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-30T06:47:12-08:00">January 30th, 6:47am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-30T06:47:12-08:00">January 30th, 6:47am</time><address><a>Ryan Bologna</a>Ryan Bologna is an author at ClutchPoints. He studied journalism and communication at UConn.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The San Antonio Spurs fell to 20-24 after a 128-116 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, but perhaps the most notable part of the game was when frustration boiled over for <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-ivica-zubac-fight-nearly-breaks-out-after-cheap-shot">Victor Wembanyama, who was shoved by Clippers center Ivica Zubac</a> on the court, resulting in him charging the Los Angeles center. Wembanyama <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/43619980/spurs-victor-wembanyama-says-refs-lack-calls-feels-unfair" rel="noopener">opened up on those frustrations</a> after the game.</p><p>“It’s not even about Zubac,” Victor Wembanyama said, via ESPN. “It’s just frustration, no matter who it was.”</p><p>Wembanyama was then asked if he believes he gets a fair whistle from officials, and he said, “No.”</p><p>It is clear that Wembanyama feels that he has not gotten a favorable whistle, but he said that he believes he should not have to voice these concerns because his job is to be the best basketball player he can be.</p><p>“So it’s a hard thing to fight, because it feels unfair sometimes,” Wembanyama said. “But of course, we talk about it with the staff and there is some stuff I have to do to help myself. First of all, being strong and not bailing out shots, but also there is some work to do. Talking to the refs, of course, explaining myself. But for me, it doesn’t feel like it’s something I should influence. I’m a basketball player, I’m here to play, and yeah, this is why it’s frustrating. It’s not my job to do politics.”</p><p>Wembanyama is one of the rising stars in the league, and it is viewed as a matter of when, not if he and the Spurs become a real contender in the Western Conference. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-spurs-deaaron-fox-preferred-trade-destination">The buzz surrounding De’Aaron Fox</a> could accelerate that timeline, and it will be interesting to see if that move happens in the next week or so ahead of the trade deadline.</p><p>Up next for the Spurs is a home game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, a tough matchup against an Eastern Conference contender.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama goes off on refs for ‘unfair’ whistle after Ivica Zubac incident

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-ivica-zubac-fight-nearly-breaks-out-after-cheap-shot');   ga('set', 'title', 'Victor Wembanyama-Ivica Zubac fight nearly breaks out in Spurs vs. Clippers after cheap shot');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Victor-Wembanyama-Ivica-Zubac-fight-nearly-breaks-out-after-cheap-shot.jpg"></figure><h1>Victor Wembanyama-Ivica Zubac fight nearly breaks out in Spurs vs. Clippers after cheap shot</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-29T22:17:12-08:00">January 29th, 10:17pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-29T22:17:12-08:00">January 29th, 10:17pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Wednesday night, the San Antonio Spurs fell even further below the .500 mark on the season as they lost to a veteran Los Angeles Clippers team, 128-116. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-blocking-his-way-into-nba-history">Victor Wembanyama continues to stuff the stat sheet</a>, but against the Clippers, Ivica Zubac had his way against him in the paint, scoring 21 points and hauling in 22 rebounds — winning the physical battle against the young Spurs star.</p><p>It got to the point where Zubac’s physical advantage over Wembanyama frustrated the Spurs star; at one point in the third quarter, the Spurs went out in transition, with Chris Paul feeding Harrison Barnes for an open triple. Wembanyama was bracing for a potential miss when the Clippers center came barging through his back, sending him flying towards the baseline and onto the ground.</p><p>Wembanyama <a href="https://twitter.com/cjzero/status/1884794454340514161" rel="noopener">took exception to this</a>, and after composing himself for a few seconds, decided to run after Zubac as if to challenge him to a fight. But with the Clippers having taken a timeout after the Barnes three, the entire Spurs bench was able to hold Wembanyama back from doing something he might regret.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Zubac shoves Wemby who goes down, Wemby goes after Zubac but gets stopped by coach/teammates <a href="https://t.co/rJDDw0VKsr">pic.twitter.com/rJDDw0VKsr</a></p><p>— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) <a href="https://twitter.com/cjzero/status/1884794454340514161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The Spurs star is one of the most confident players in the association, but he does not usually lose his cool like he did against the Clippers on Wednesday. But his frustration towards Zubac after the play was understandable; many big men have struggled with back issues in the past, and the Clippers center could have seriously hurt him with that shove. Nonetheless, all is well that ends well, and thankfully for everyone, the situation did not escalate.</p><p>If there was a play that can summarize how things went for the Spurs on Wednesday, it’s this one; they were outmuscled by a more grizzled Clippers team, and Wembanyama, who’s been phenomenal all season long, couldn’t overcome a balanced effort from the Clippers’ core four.</p><h2><b>Spurs look to get back on track</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Victor-Wembanyama-slams-it-home.jpg"><figcaption>Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>In the loaded Western Conference, there is not much room for error. The Spurs are certainly learning this, as they are falling behind the pace in the play-in race, falling to 20-24 after their loss to the Clippers.</p><p>This, however, should not elicit panic. The Spurs weren’t exactly expected yet to challenge for a playoff spot, and they are ahead of schedule as a team that is threatening to finish near the .500 mark this season. And with their Victor Wembanyama-led core only getting better, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/spurs-news-jalen-johnsons-injury-land-spurs-cooper-flagg">good days should be ahead of the entire Spurs organization</a>.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Victor Wembanyama-Ivica Zubac fight nearly breaks out in Spurs vs. Clippers after cheap shot

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/clippers-news-ivica-zubac-ruled-out-bulls-concerning-injury');   ga('set', 'title', 'Ivica Zubac ruled out vs. Bulls with concerning injury');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Ivica-Zubac-ruled-out-vs-Bulls-with-concerning-injury.jpg"></figure><h1>Ivica Zubac ruled out vs. Bulls with concerning injury</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-20T19:12:51-08:00">January 20th, 7:12pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-21T05:04:22-08:00">January 21st, 5:04am</time><address><a>Nathan Yasis</a>Nathan Yasis is an Associate Editor for ClutchPoints, specializing in the NBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-la-improves-perfect-ivica-zubac-record-in-lakers-demolition">dominating the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday night, Ivica Zubac</a> is set to miss tonight’s game for the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers are set to host the Chicago Bulls in the first of their two regular-season matchups. Both teams are coming off back-to-back games, but their recent fortunes differ significantly. The Clippers enter on a four-game winning streak, while the Bulls are struggling with five consecutive losses.</p><p>Ivica Zubac (eye) <a href="https://x.com/TomerAzarly/status/1881449278708781234" rel="noopener">will miss Monday’s game</a> against the Chicago Bulls, ClutchPoints’ Tomer Azarly reports. He played through a back injury on Sunday against the Lakers but suffered an eye injury after being poked. Before the setback, he dominated with 21 points, 19 rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and a steal in 35 minutes.</p><p>With Ivica Zubac’s contributions, the Clippers hold a 24-17 record, placing them fifth in the Western Conference. They’ve achieved this despite superstar forward Kawhi Leonard appearing in only four games.</p><h2><b>Ivica Zubac playing huge for the Los Angeles Clippers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Clippers-Ivica-Zubac-against-the-Lakers.jpg"><figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Zubac, one of the NBA’s top-performing centers this season, is averaging career highs in points, rebounds, and steals. On Sunday night, the ninth-year veteran delivered a dominant performance with 21 points and 19 rebounds. Following his stellar game against the Lakers, StatMuse highlighted the Clippers’ perfect 7-0 record this season when Zubac recorded at least 20 points and 15 rebounds.</p><p>Ivica Zubac has played with the Clippers since the team acquired him in a February 2019 trade with the Lakers, just before signing Kawhi Leonard in July of that year.</p><p>The Clippers aim to maintain their momentum despite a crowded injury report ahead of today’s game. Currently, six players are listed: Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac, James Harden, Norman Powell, Nicolas Batum, Kris Dunn, and P.J. Tucker.</p><p>Kawhi Leonard will also sit out today’s game as it’s the second night of a back-to-back. He is officially sidelined for right knee injury management.</p><p>James Harden is likely to play, listed as probable with right groin soreness. Norman Powell’s status is uncertain due to back soreness, while Nicolas Batum is expected to suit up despite right finger soreness. Kris Dunn’s availability remains questionable as he manages left knee soreness, and P.J. Tucker will miss the game as he is still away from the team.</p><p>With the 27-year-old Zubac sidelined, Kai Jones and Mo Bamba may see additional minutes tonight.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Bulls have eleven players listed on their injury report: Lonzo Ball, Zach LaVine, Jevon Carter, Torrey Craig, Ayo Dosunmu, Chris Duarte, E.J. Liddell, Emanuel Miller, Adama Sanogo, Jalen Smith, and Coby White.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Ivica Zubac ruled out vs. Bulls with concerning injury

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/lakers-news-anthony-davis-brutally-honest-ivica-zubac-getting-destroyed');   ga('set', 'title', 'Lakers’ Anthony Davis gets brutally honest on Ivica Zubac after being destroyed by him');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Lakers-news-Anthony-Davis-gets-brutally-honest-on-Ivica-Zubac-after-getting-destroyed-by-him.jpg"></figure><h1>Lakers’ Anthony Davis gets brutally honest on Ivica Zubac after being destroyed by him</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-20T08:01:42-08:00">January 20th, 8:01am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-20T16:01:38-08:00">January 20th, 4:01pm</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University while covering events like the 2023 NCAA Men's Final Four, the 2024 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and the Arizona State men's swim and dive team. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The undefeated streak continues for Ivica Zubac, although Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis was on the receiving end of it. A 21-point and 19-rebound double-double had many in awe. Funny enough, the Clippers have a perfect record when <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-la-improves-perfect-ivica-zubac-record-in-lakers-demolition">Zubac posts at least 20+ points and 15+ rebounds</a>.</p><p>For Davis, he posted 16 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and three blocks. Even with being a great post defender, Zubac put the hurt on the Lakers big man. Davis explained to Joey Linn of Sports Illustrated after the game about how the Clippers big man has <a href="https://x.com/joeylinn_/status/1881207142994084306" rel="noopener">improved his game</a>.</p><p>“He’s worked on his post game,” Davis said. “That jump hook. He’s always been a good screener, good roller, lob threat, offensive rebounder, good rim protector. He’s developed his post game, where they’re throwing it to him, and he’s finishing with his right hook. He’s added that to his arsenal.”</p><p>So far this season, Zubac is averaging career highs in nearly every category. Not to mention, he’s played and started in all 41 games this season. His confidence is there, and it’s evident that he’s put in some serious work during the offseason. Unfortunately for Davis, he was the recipient of a quality game by the Clippers center.</p><h2><b>Ivica Zubac caused problems for the Lakers and Anthony Davis</b></h2><p>As Davis referenced about Zubac, his arsenal has grown. There’s a consistent jump hook, but it’s more of the finite details that stand out. He’s a great screener and physical and knows how to position himself for rebounds, among many other things. Those attributes have happened throughout his entire career.</p><p>However, they’ve been heightened thanks to <a href="https://athlonsports.com/nba/all-clippers/zu-is-a-rock-for-our-organization-and-will-remain-so-lawrence-frank-on-officially-signing-ivica-zubac-to-a-contract-extension" rel="noopener">his increased skillset</a>. Teams are now respecting Zubac once he steps inside the three-point line. The Lakers allowed him to shoot 9-for-16 from the field, including some trips to the free-throw line. While Davis has primarily dominated the Bosnia and Herzegovina native, the script was flipped.</p><p>Although <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-jj-redick-reveals-whats-okay-about-loss-clippers">Lakers head coach JJ Redick was “okay” about the loss</a>, it won’t be the case for Davis. He takes pride in being a paint beast and was simply outplayed. However, in that fashion, you have to give credit where credit is due, and that’s exactly what the Lakers star did.</p><p>Luckily, they take on the Clippers at the beginning of February. By that time, Davis might have done some more homework on Zubac and understood his new skillset. At the same time, Zubac could keep adding to his arsenal and show out once again. Still, time will tell if February’s game is a repeat of what happened on Sunday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lakers’ Anthony Davis gets brutally honest on Ivica Zubac after being destroyed by him

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/clippers-news-la-improves-perfect-ivica-zubac-record-in-lakers-demolition');   ga('set', 'title', 'Clippers improve perfect Ivica Zubac record in Lakers demolition');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/LA-improves-perfect-Ivica-Zubac-record-in-Lakers-demolition.jpg"></figure><h1>Clippers improve perfect Ivica Zubac record in Lakers demolition</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-19T23:42:43-08:00">January 19th, 11:42pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-19T23:42:43-08:00">January 19th, 11:42pm</time><address><a>Dylan Fine</a>Dylan Fine focuses on the NFL and NCAA Football for ClutchPoints, in addition to working on the meme team. Dylan is a graduate of Georgetown University and has covered various topics ranging from local politics in the DMV region with DC Voter For Animals to live sporting events in the Long Island and Rochester areas with The Southampton Press and Pickin’Splinters. When he isn't working, he's usually running in preparation for the next annual Turkey Trot.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Clippers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Clippers continued an impressive record when center Ivica Zubac puts up a certain stat line. As star point guard <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-james-harden-hits-scoring-milestone-lakers-clash">James Harden hit a personal milestone</a>, Ty Lue’s team dominated the Los Angeles Lakers 116-102 in an impressive display on both ends. The Clippers now sit at 24-17 overall and fifth in the Western Conference. The team has accomplished this even with superstar small forward Kawhi Leonard only playing in four games.</p><p>A lot of this success can be attributed to Ivica Zubac, who’s been one of the best centers in the NBA this season. Averaging career highs in points, rebounds, and steals, the ninth-year veteran went off on Sunday night with 21 points and 19 boards. After this performance, StatMuse revealed that the Clippers <a href="https://x.com/statmuse/status/1881194224571564280" rel="noopener">are 7-0</a> when their center has put totals of at least 20 points and 15 rebounds this season.</p><h2><b>Ivica Zubac’s breakout season has allowed the Clippers to thrive this season</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Clippers-center-Ivica-Zubac.jpg"><figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Alongside guard Norman Powell, Ivica Zubac has proven that certain NBA players can do so much more when given more prominent roles. And in the absence of Kawhi Leonard for most of the year, along with the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/76ers-news-philly-makes-paul-george-splash-free-agency">departure of Paul George</a> this offseason, Ty Lue has helped these two thrive. Powell has averaged a career-high 23.7 points per game on staggering efficiency. Meanwhile, Zubac has made giant leaps on both ends of the floor.</p><p>What’s been particularly impressive is that the big man is hitting double figures in rebounds for the first time in his career. And Zubac is not barely reaching that metric; he’s currently recording 12.5 boards per game, which ranks fourth in the NBA.</p><p>The 2024-2025 season was possibly going to be a rebuilding one for Ty Lue and company. There was and still is a lot of uncertainty around Kawhi Leonard’s availability for the foreseeable future. In addition, as Paul George left for the Sixers, star point guard James Harden was heading into his 17th center at 35 years old.</p><p>Fortunately, “The Beard” has been an excellent floor general for Los Angeles through 41 games. In addition, the Clippers have been elite on defense to this point, <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/advanced?dir=A&amp;sort=DEF_RATING" rel="noopener">posting the second-best defensive rating</a> in the NBA. Winners of four straight games, this team appears to be getting more confident and healthy by the day. Still, the key to this team’s title odds will be the health of Leonard.</p><p>Overall, the fact that Ivica Zubac already has seven games where he’s recorded at least 20 points and 15 rebounds shows how elite he’s been this season. As the Croatian giant thrives so do the Clippers. Los Angeles, therefore, needs to keep feeding their center, who has turned into a star at the age of 27.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Clippers improve perfect Ivica Zubac record in Lakers demolition

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nuggets-news-russell-westbrook-sounds-off-on-viral-moment-with-clippers-ivica-zubac');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nuggets’ Russell Westbrook sounds off on viral moment with Clippers’ Ivica Zubac');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Russell-Westbrook-sounds-off-on-viral-moment-with-Clippers-Ivica-Zubac.jpg"></figure><h1>Nuggets’ Russell Westbrook sounds off on viral moment with Clippers’ Ivica Zubac</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-08T22:57:48-08:00">January 8th, 10:57pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-09T07:06:12-08:00">January 9th, 7:06am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Denver Nuggets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Despite <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-nikola-jokic-miss-celtics-clash">not having the services of Nikola Jokic</a> on the second night of a back-to-back, with the reigning MVP missing time due to illness, the Denver Nuggets defended their home floor with conviction against the Los Angeles Clippers, dominating nearly the entire proceedings en route to a 126-103 victory. Russell Westbrook was once again at the heart of the Nuggets’ efforts, as he put up 19 points, six rebounds, and eight assists in his role as the commander of the team’s offense.</p><p>Westbrook’s contributions go beyond the stat-sheet columns he stuffs on a nightly basis whenever he gets heavy minutes. This was most apparent in the energy he brought for the Nuggets, most notably during the first quarter in which he warned former teammate Ivica Zubac that he better box out — only for Westbrook to <a href="https://twitter.com/DNVR_Nuggets/status/1877218247692464572" rel="noopener">prove his bragging ways right</a> by inhaling an offensive rebound off a missed free throw and putting it back through the net for two points.</p><p>“I told him I was going to get the rebound. I told Zu that if he miss, I’m going to get this one and there’s nothing you can do about it. And he missed, and I got it, and there was nothing he could do about it,” Westbrook said before hilariously exiting his postgame presser, via DNVR Nuggets on X (formerly known as Twitter).</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“I told Zu that if he miss, I’m going to get this one and there’s nothing you can do about it.”</p><p>“And he missed, and I got it, and there was nothing he could do about it.”</p><p>Russell Westbrook on his offensive rebound and putback off the Clippers’ missed free-throw 😂 <a href="https://t.co/w1fvLds40i">pic.twitter.com/w1fvLds40i</a></p><p>— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) <a href="https://twitter.com/DNVR_Nuggets/status/1877218247692464572?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>If there’s anything Westbrook does on the hardwood, it’s play with a brand of confidence that never wavers, regardless of whether his team is ahead or facing a deficit. And the Nuggets have been feeding off his energy in a big way. This was ever apparent in the way they challenged the Boston Celtics despite missing Jokic, and in the way they gave the Clippers no chance to win the ballgame on Wednesday night.</p><p>Westbrook was also asked if he plays a <a href="https://x.com/NBABlackburn/status/1877222250916487371" rel="noopener">“teeny bit harder”</a> against his former team, per Mile High Sports’ Ryan Blackburn, to which he said this: “I play hard every night, man. I love to compete at the highest level. Tonight just happened to be the Clippers.”</p><h2><b>The Nuggets are facilitating a bit of a Russell Westbrook renaissance</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Nuggets-guard-Russell-Westbrook-4-shoots-a-layup.jpg"><figcaption>© Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>When the Nuggets signed Russell Westbrook this past offseason, there were plenty of doubts as to whether he’d be a positive contributor for the team. After all, Westbrook was coming off a bad playoff series for the Clippers where his deficiencies were exposed big-time by the Dallas Mavericks.</p><p>Westbrook, however, has been everything the Nuggets could have hoped for and more. He has bounced back from a rough start in the Mile High City, emerging as one of their most important players. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-russell-westbrooks-strong-nikola-jokic-claim-after-win">Westbrook has built some very nice chemistry with Nikola Jokic</a>, and his voice has been prominent in the locker room, helping establish an incredible sense of competitiveness within the team.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
15.4	12.6	2.5	1.2	0.8

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
15.4	12.6	2.5	1.2	0.8

Ivica Zubac news

Ivica
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