<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Serge-Ibaka-DeMarcus-Cousins-Paul-George-Tyronn-Lue-Clippers.jpeg"><figcaption>CP</figcaption></figure><h1>Severity of Serge Ibaka’s injury, per Paul George, Ty Lue</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-05T17:40:02-07:00">May 5th, 5:40pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-05T18:35:28-07:00">May 5th, 6:35pm</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Thursday will mark 52 days and 27 consecutive games that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/tag/serge-ibaka/" rel="noopener">Serge Ibaka</a> has been out due to his back injury. With only six games left in the regular season for <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/tag/paul-george/" rel="noopener">Paul George</a>, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/tag/tyronn-lue" rel="noopener">Tyronn Lue</a>, and the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/tag/clippers/" rel="noopener">LA Clippers</a>, there’s no return date in sight for the big man.</p><p>“Don’t have a potential return date,” Clippers head coach <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1389737117731856386?s=20">Tyronn Lue said Wednesday</a>. “I know Serge has been doing everything in his power with five, six, seven hours a day of just rehabbing, trying to get himself back.”</p><p>In a recent exchange with ClutchPoints, Ibaka said, “I’m doing well. I’m getting better every day. No date yet, but soon.”</p><p>Ibaka suffered what the team called, ‘lower back tightness’ during the March 14th game vs. the New Orleans Pelicans. Since that day, the Clippers have kept relatively quiet about the true nature of his injury. Whenever asked about any update on his status and his injury, Lue and the Clippers simply said, ‘he was progressing.’</p><p>“I can’t get into specifics,” Lue countered when asked about what Ibaka’s dealing with. “Like I said, he’s just figuring through some things. He’s just trying to fight through, get better, constantly do his rehab to get back on the floor.”</p><p>In all of the Clippers’ road trips since his injury, Ibaka has remained in Los Angeles to rehab. For about a week now, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/COOcXNxhUtE/" rel="noopener">Ibaka has progressed</a> to playing 4-on-4 and 5-on-5 basketball at practice. It seems the biggest hurdles, as of right now, are playing for an extended period of time and physicality.</p><p>“Seeing him on the floor the last few times playing 4-on-4, 5-on-5, just trying to get used to getting hit again, getting banged, the physicality of the game. That’s gonna take some time, especially when you come off the situation that he’s going through right now and that’s to be expected, but for him to be out there on the floor is a positive for us right now. We don’t have a return date as of right now.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="instagram-media"><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/reel/COOcXNxhUtE/?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 Serge Ibaka (@sergeibaka)</a></p></div></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Despite not traveling on any of the trips, Ibaka has remained closely in touch with the team, constantly in the group chat anytime they’re not playing.</p><p>“He’s just still staying involved,” Paul George said of Ibaka Wednesday. “He’s still communicating with the group, still engaged with the games, he’s still pretty much a part of this team even when we’re on the road and he’s staying behind to train and rehab. He’s still texting our chat and kind of letting us know he’s still supporting us, he’s still there for us, he’s still communicating with us.”</p><p>George, however, did have a bit of a revealing line when he vaguely mentioned Ibaka’s injury.</p><p>“We’re not rushing him,” George added. “We understand the severity of his injury and his rehab, we’re with him when he’s available and when he’s ready to go and we support him through this whole process.”</p><p>‘The severity of his injury,’ is certainly a worrisome quote from George. However, considering Ibaka’s missed nearly two months with ‘back stiffness,’ it’s clearly something serious. The good news is all signs at least point to Ibaka making significant progress over the last few weeks.</p><p>Does that mean we’ll see him anytime soon? If I had to guess at the moment, I’d say a return at some point during the first round is possible. Aside from the conditioning aspect that’s nearly impossible to replicate outside of actual games, throwing Ibaka into the fire in the middle of a playoff series could be a dangerous game to play.</p><p>Another reason to believe Ibaka isn’t necessarily, ‘close,’ to a return is the uptick in minutes for DeMarcus Cousins at center. After a month away from the NBA, Cousins played a total of 34 minutes across his first seven games with LA, including three DNP’s. Since April 18th, Cousins is sixth on the team in minutes played at 71 across eight games, averaging 10.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists on 54.9 percent shooting.</p><p>Maybe ramping Cousins up is due to Patrick Patterson’s often ineffective play as a small-ball five man. It could also be just to have Cousins ready to play in case of an emergency. Either way, the Clippers appear to be preparing Cousins for a big role with the second unit.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"I've put in an incredible amount of work to get to this place. I feel great, my body feels great. I think I'm probably the best shape I've been in my entire career. I understand the situation I'm in."</p><p>DeMarcus Cousins on his health and role with Clippers. <a href="https://t.co/ClImLMZuHE" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/ClImLMZuHE</a></p><p>— Tomer Pfizarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1379670518073151488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">April 7, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>“I bring a different dynamic to the team and T-Lue has done a great job incorporating me and my talents, making me feel a part of this,” <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1379670518073151488">Cousins said</a> after joining the team. “I just go in and try to play my role and help with whatever I can, so it’s been a smooth transition and it’s still a work in progress…</p><p>“I understand the situation that I’m in, whatever opportunity is given to me, I plan on just taking full advantage of it, just controlling what I can control.”</p><p>The Clippers would easily welcome Serge Ibaka back as soon as he’s able to return, but the team has clearly been preparing Cousins for a role in the rotation in the coming weeks.</p><p>In 39 appearances this season, all starts, Serge Ibaka averaged 10.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game on 50.7 percent shooting from the field, 35.2 percent from beyond the arc, and 82.2 percent from the free throw line.</p><p>The NBA playoffs are set to begin May 22nd following the five-day play-in tournament period.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Severity of Serge Ibaka’s injury, per Paul George, Ty Lue

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/thunder-news-serge-ibaka-rookie-record-wrecked-by-aleksej-pokusevski.jpg"></figure><h1>Serge Ibaka’s Thunder record wrecked by Aleksej Pokusevski</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-04-18T19:25:22-07:00">April 18th, 7:25pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-04-18T19:27:53-07:00">April 18th, 7:27pm</time><address><a>Kriel Ibarrola</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Move over Serge Ibaka, Aleksej Pokusevski just hopped over you in the Oklahoma City Thunder record books.</p><p>The 19-year-old Serbian recorded a career-high six blocks in the Thunder’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/scores/nba/boxscore/oklahoma-city-thunder-toronto-raptors-4-19-2021/9cb0b8ce-ba01-4903-9c8c-d1373edcc101" rel="noopener">112-106 loss</a> to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. By doing so, he eclipsed Ibaka’s previous record of five blocked shots in his first year.</p><p>Per <a href="https://twitter.com/nbastats/status/1383959250930520065" rel="noopener">NBA stats</a>, Poku is the first freshman player in Thunder history to swat more than five blocks in a game since Ibaka in the 2009-10 season.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Aleksej Pokusevski (6 BLK tonight) is the first <a href="https://twitter.com/okcthunder?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@okcthunder</a> rookie with 5+ BLK in a game since Serge Ibaka (5 BLK on April 14, 2010). <a href="https://twitter.com/EliasSports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@EliasSports</a> <a href="https://t.co/IbLbk2aIl0" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/IbLbk2aIl0</a></p><p>— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) <a href="https://twitter.com/nbastats/status/1383959250930520065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">April 19, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>A surprise pick by OKC at number 17  in the 2020 draft, Aleksej Pokusevski has turned a lot of heads as of late with his impressive play for head coach Mark Daigneault. While his gangly built leaves a lot to be desired, Poku has shown glimpses of two-way potential at the forward spot for the Thunder.</p><p>Apart from his pin-point passing and ability to stretch the floor at his height, the 7-foot Poku has proven to be a great defensive anchor for the young Thunder team. His absurd length is troublesome even for some of the best players in the league. Poku definitely made use of his physical tools against the Raptors.</p><p>Aside from his game-high six rejections, he also recorded eight points, seven rebounds and five dimes on 4-for-14 shooting from the field. However, he did struggle mightily from past the arc against Toronto after missing all eight of his 3-point attempts.</p><p>While Pokusevski is definitely a work in progress for OKC, the Thunder are surely liking what they’re seeing out of him so far. If he keeps this up, Poku will definitely be a part of the OKC core moving forward.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Serge Ibaka’s Thunder record wrecked by Aleksej Pokusevski

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Moses-Brown-Serge-Ibaka-Thunder.jpg"></figure><h1>Serge Ibaka’s second coming makes Thunder history with crazy stat line</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-03-16T20:57:09-07:00">March 16th, 8:57pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-03-16T20:57:09-07:00">March 16th, 8:57pm</time><address><a>Chris Guest</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder took on the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night and ended up being defeated by a <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder-chicago-bulls-2021031604/">final margin of 123 to 102</a>. Despite the ugly final line, Thunder center Moses Brown had a career night, matching a feat only achieved by Serge Ibaka in team history.</p><p>In <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/moses-brown/a6f40983/gamelog">just his 11th game for the Thunder</a>, the previously unknown Brown already found himself in the record books after finishing with 20 points, 16 rebounds, and five blocks in under 30 minutes. He might’ve nabbed more numbers if he hadn’t fouled out.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">🚫 👀 <br>Roby ➡️ Brown</p><p>Moses becomes 2nd player in OKC history with 20+ points, 15+ rebounds and 5+ blocks. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThunderUp?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">#ThunderUp</a> <a href="https://t.co/4tyQtMcWP4" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/4tyQtMcWP4</a></p><p>— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) <a href="https://twitter.com/okcthunder/status/1372009088876351490?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">March 17, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>The 21-year-old Brown is only in his second season in the NBA after spending his rookie year with the Portland Trail Blazers on a two-way contract. He only saw 33 minutes of regular season action last year with Rip City, but he has been pressed into starting duty the past two games with the Thunder due to Al Horford, Darius Bazley, and Luguentz Dort all out for various reasons.</p><p>Brown isn’t resting on his laurels though. With his enormous size of 7’2″ height, 7’4″ wingspan, and 9’5″ standing reach, the UCLA product is a truly terrifying rim presence, despite his still-thin frame.</p><p>The Thunder are one of the youngest teams in the NBA, so they’ve been experimenting with all sorts of different lineups, which means Brown has a good opportunity to cement himself in the rotation going forward.</p><p>One thing Moses Brown will have to work on in the future though is his fouling. In the 11 games he’s appeared this season, he has fouled out in four of them.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Serge Ibaka’s second coming makes Thunder history with crazy stat line

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/giannis-5.jpg"></figure><h1>VIDEO: Bucks star Giannis Antetokounnmpo embarrasses Clippers’ Serge Ibaka twice in 1 minute</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-02-28T14:37:54-08:00">February 28th, 2:37pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-02-28T14:38:56-08:00">February 28th, 2:38pm</time><address><a>Paolo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Sunday night featured a marquee matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Clippers. As expected, the reigning MVP and Defensive Player of the Year stepped it up when the lights were the brightest, as Giannis Antetokounmpo reminded Clippers big man Serge Ibaka that defending him is never going to be an easy task.</p><p>Giannis went at it with Ibaka in a series of plays during the third quarter, which unfortunately for Ibaka, did not end too well for him.</p><p>First off, Giannis took on Ibaka in the post. The Bucks superstar forcefully backed Ibaka down before showcasing his tremendous footwork to leave Serge in the dust (h/t <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1366146798243385344">ClutchPoints</a> on Twitter):</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Giannis showing off the footwork and throws it down 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/YwitYjohTp" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/YwitYjohTp</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1366146798243385344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">February 28, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Barely a minute later, Giannis took it strong to the whole, and as fate would have it, it was Ibaka who ended up on the wrong end of a (semi) poster jam:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Giannis around Ibaka again and throws it down 💪🏽🔥 <a href="https://t.co/5uZX1pDSBY" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/5uZX1pDSBY</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1366148259484368897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">February 28, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>The added bonus on the play for Antetokounmpo is Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard’s attempt to provide some help defense, which ended up being a futile effort from the former Finals MVP.</p><p>Antetokounmpo was clearly feeling himself on the evening, and he’ll be hoping that the Bucks are able to carve out a key win here against the mighty Clippers after what has been a rather <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-giannis-antetokounmpo-bucks-in-the-midst-of-historically-bad-5-game-losing-streak/">horrible February</a> for Milwaukee.</p><p> </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

VIDEO: Bucks star Giannis Antetokounnmpo embarrasses Clippers’ Serge Ibaka twice in 1 minute

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Clippers-news-Serge-Ibaka-fires-back-at-reporter-over-fashion-comments-Thumbnail.jpg"></figure><h1>Clippers’ Serge Ibaka fires back at reporter over fashion comments, reveals Kawhi Leonard’s advice</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-02-15T06:46:45-08:00">February 15th, 6:46am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-02-15T06:47:57-08:00">February 15th, 6:47am</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>If there’s one guy on the Los Angeles Clippers who knows fashion, it’s Serge Ibaka. And if you’re talking to Ibaka about fashion, you better refer to it as “art.”</p><p>The Clippers defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night, 128-111, thanks to a big game from Ibaka. The Congolese-Spanish big man finished with a season-high 21 points and a career-high six assists to go along with his nine rebounds and two blocked shots. After the game, Serge Ibaka met with members of the media for the third time all season and the first time since late December.</p><p>Ibaka is well-known around the NBA for his outlandish outfits, which often include hats and scarves. Despite there being no crowd, Sunday night was no different. But why does Serge Ibaka still go all-out dressing up despite there being no fans and a good portion of Los Angeles still shut down?</p><p>“I don’t dress, sir,” Ibaka <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1361219425001607171" rel="noopener">quickly responded</a>. “I do art.”</p><p>“So yeah, I just love doing art, that’s one of my favorite parts of looking good because I like to create and as you’re seeing now I got my hat and I got a scarf and I just turn it into a mask at the same time. I just love to create. That’s my mindset of art. Because art is about creativity, so that’s what I’m doing right now.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"I don't dress, sir. I do art. So yeah, I just love doing art. I like to create. I got my hat, I got my scarf, but it turns into a mask at the same time… That's the mindset of art. Art is about creativity."</p><p>Serge Ibaka when asked about how he dresses and his style. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Clippers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">#Clippers</a> <a href="https://t.co/mSikH1HK61" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/mSikH1HK61</a></p><p>— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1361219425001607171?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">February 15, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>I took it upon myself to ask Ibaka, who is good friends with Kawhi Leonard, whether Leonard actually takes his advice on “art.”</p><p>“Art? No!” Ibaka <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1361220110845837312" rel="noopener">said</a>. “He says, ‘I don’t do art.’ He says my style is more European style. I ask him, ‘What is different? What is European style?’ He says, ‘Your style is European style.’ So yeah, he thinks my style is more European style than just doing art.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“He says I don’t do art. He says my style is more European style. I asked him, 'what's the European style?' He says, 'your style is European style.' He thinks my style is more European style than doing art."</p><p>Serge Ibaka on giving Kawhi Leonard art advice. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Clippers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">#Clippers</a> <a href="https://t.co/1ebIra4gaS" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/1ebIra4gaS</a></p><p>— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1361220110845837312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">February 15, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Ibaka and the Clippers won their second game of the season without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. They also beat the Miami Heat a few weeks ago and lost to the Atlanta Hawks when both of their stars were out. While it only has been three total games, Ibaka says the team is able to learn the most from these opportunities.</p><p>“To know how good you are is when your best players are out,” Serge Ibaka claimed after the win. “That is how you know how good you are. I have been in situations before and the year we won with the Raptors, and Kawhi was out for some time of the season, we were playing so good. That is how we know that we are a good team. I think this is a good test for us too, especially right now. Kawhi and PG, they are out, it’s a good opportunity for us to see where we are as a team.”</p><p>The next test for the Clippers comes Monday night when the Miami Heat come to town. This time, they’ll have All-Star Jimmy Butler back in the lineup. Paul George will not play, but Kawhi Leonard’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-out-vs-cavs-with-leg-injury/" rel="noopener">status has yet to be determined.</a></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Clippers’ Serge Ibaka fires back at reporter over fashion comments, reveals Kawhi Leonard’s advice

Kyle Lowry

Andrew Wiggins

Seth Curry

Gordon Hayward

Serge Ibaka

Andre Drummond

JaVale McGee

Kemba Walker

Rudy Gay

Danny Green

2019 NBA Champ

3x All-Defensive

2018-19 NBA Champ

2x BLK Champ

Oklahoma City Thunder

Toronto Raptors

Orlando Magic

Los Angeles Clippers

4 seasons

6 seasons

1 seasons

1 season

https://twitter.com/sergeibaka/status/1389810279672778753/

https://twitter.com/sergeibaka/status/1387904235526709252/

https://twitter.com/sergeibaka/status/1386443350912290816/

Take care of your body, because it is the only one you will ever have. #HappySunday

https://twitter.com/sergeibaka/status/1386093331277516802/

A winner is just a loser that tried one more time ⏳🙏🏾 

https://twitter.com/sergeibaka/status/1381844895749447680/

https://twitter.com/sergeibaka/status/1376257197718429698/

https://twitter.com/sergeibaka/status/1375505770511433730/

https://twitter.com/sergeibaka/status/1375207635012657157/

2020-21 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
10.9	6.7	1.7	1.2	0.2

2020-21 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
10.9	6.7	1.7	1.2	0.2