With Kawhi Leonard and Paul George both out of action, the L.A. Clippers faced an intriguing challenge on Tuesday evening with a road trip to face Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder. By halftime, it was clear that the Clippers were locked in battle, trailing 49-43 after 24 minutes of action. However, there was a very interesting play just before the halftime break arrived, and it involved Clippers center Ivica Zubac and a case of mistaken clock management.
With about nine seconds remaining in the half, Thunder guard Tre Mann connected on a three-pointer to give Oklahoma City that six-point edge. Zubac then took the inbound pass and heaved a shot from more than 80 feet, seemingly not realizing that the Clippers were inbounding with 8.7 seconds to go.
Zubac went for the full court shot with 8 seconds left on the clock 🤣 @shaqtin pic.twitter.com/wAuGGYT5v5
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 26, 2022
Hilariously, Zubac nearly made this shot, and it would have been incredible if it went in. Regardless, it brought entertainment to everyone watching, and the broadcast team was clearly quite confused by what transpired.
Zubac actually had a very strong first half, finishing with six points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots in 17 minutes of action. This mental error doesn’t erase those contributions, but it certainly might get him recognized in some anti-highlight compilations.
