Reggie Jackson is Clutch Again, LA Clippers Defeat Orlando Magic 106-104

For the first time in a while, the LA Clippers have won three-straight games. None of these wins have come easy, but the team has found a way to pull out victories in clutch moments. Despite playing a bottom-tier Orlando Magic team, this game also went down to the wire, but the Clippers prevailed.

While the Orlando Magic are one of the league's worst teams, the Clippers were without Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Nicolas Batum in this game. Any win without those three is a good win, especially with Orlando playing relatively well.

The Magic got 23 points from Cole Anthony, 22 from Terrence Ross, and 20 from Franz Wagner. Those three were trouble all game long for the Clippers, but especially Cole Anthony. The 2nd-year player hit a game-tying three with 23 second left in the game, that forced a timeout from the Clippers before drawing up their final play of regulation.

With the shot clock dark, the Clippers had an opportunity to wind the game clock down and get the last shot of regulation. That is exactly what they did, and it led to a game-winning jumper from Reggie Jackson with just over two seconds on the clock. Reggie had 9 points in the final few minutes of this game for the Clippers, stepping up as their primary scorer with Paul George sidelined. He finished with 25 points on 52% shooting, and was everything the Clippers needed him to be down the stretch.

While Reggie was the hero of this game, the Clippers do not win without Luke Kennard. Luke finished with 23 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds on 7/11 from deep. He has been fantastic for the Clippers all season, but especially of late. In his last 6 games, Kennard is averaging 17.1 PPG on 52/58/100 splits. On the season, Kennard is first in the NBA in 3P% amongst all players with at least 150 attempts, at 45.1% from deep.

After the game, head coach Ty Lue said that the team wants Kennard shooting as many threes as possible, and this game was an indication why the team feels that way. In the first year of his contract extension, Kennard has been worth every bit of it.

The Clippers got another solid game from Terance Mann in this one, as he went for 16 points on 5/8 from the field and 4/4 from deep. It has been an up and down year for him so far, but he has been very impactful in his last couple games.

The Clippers will get a rest day on Sunday before hosting the Phoenix Suns in Los Angeles on Monday night.