On Sunday evening, the Los Angeles Clippers suffered their second consecutive loss with a close home loss to the Orlando Magic. It was a tightly contested game throughout, but ultimately, the Clippers fell when Benedict Mathurin's last-second shot to win the game hit the back of the iron and fell out.
After the game, Kawhi Leonard, who passed out to Mathurin for an open look, had a supportive message for the Clippers' recent trade acquisition from the Indiana Pacers.
According to Joe Lynn of Sports Illustrated on Twitter, "Ben got wide open. Unfortunately, he couldn't do it. But that's basketball. Things happen. We took a good look and he'll be ready next time."
Mathurin also got 100% real insight into the missed shots, as well as what it means to have someone like Leonard in his corner.
"It was great to have that experience. Obviously I wish I had made that shot, but there's nothing I can do except work on it more... It means a lot. In my opinion, [Kawhi] He is one of the greatest players to ever play the game. So for them to come out to show love and support and show that there's a lot more ahead of me – for a guy who's made a lot of shots, it was great to see,” he said.
The Clippers have now lost two straight games following their recent win over the Denver Nuggets, but they are still comfortably in postseason position in the Western Conference, sitting five games above the Memphis Grizzlies for the final play-in spot.
Mathurin was acquired from the Pacers in exchange for big man Ivica Zubac as part of the Clippers' trade deadline fire sale, in which they sent James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Darius Garland.
The Clippers next play on Thursday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
