Serge Ibaka looks sharp in return, but Clippers sit several players and lose to Rockets

Out of the Clippers’ lineup for two months, Serge Ibaka played like he barely had missed a day Friday night in his return after missing 30 games because of a back injury.

The former starting center looked fluid in 17 minutes off the bench while finishing with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists in his team’s 122-115 loss at Houston. Ibaka made six of eight field-goal attempts.

The return of the 12-year veteran, who will play off the bench behind starter Ivica Zubac, had its moments of miscommunication. Expecting Luke Kennard to cut toward the corner, Ibaka threw a pass there while Kennard kept running toward him around the three-point arc instead. When Rajon Rondo flipped a behind-the-back pass to Ibaka in the third quarter, the pass slipped between his legs. Before Friday, they had never shared a court as teammates, given the Clippers traded for Rondo less than two weeks after Ibaka hurt his back March 14 in New Orleans.

Coach Tyronn Lue gladly took all of the expected rougher edges. The Clippers had waited for weeks to see the 7-footer back on the court.

“He said he felt good, just tired, and that’s to be expected,” Lue said. “I thought he moved well, and I thought he got to the offensive rebounds, got some putbacks, rolled to the basket. I thought he looked good for being out 30 games. So that was a good sight to see.”

The Clippers’ Serge Ibaka shoots a layup over the Rockets’ Kelly Olynyk in the third quarter.

(Bob Levey / Pool photo via Associated Press)

The Clippers used the game to jockey for playoff position, ensuring they will avoid the Lakers in the first round, but little on the court felt like a barometer for the postseason. One night after a win in Charlotte, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Patrick Beverley, Reggie Jackson, Amir Coffey and Terance Mann all did not play. Against that backdrop, the Clippers wanted to evaluate most how Ibaka physically handled the shoves, pushes and boxing out that come with an NBA center’s job description.

Ten seconds after entering the game, Ibaka grabbed the offensive rebound after a Rondo miss, then moved underneath the basket to get in position for a right-handed hook over the extended arm of Houston’s Kelly Olynyk. When he threw his pass to Kennard to the wrong spot, Kennard saved the turnover by flinging the pass back to Ibaka, who took a quick dribble into the paint before dumping an assist to Kennard for a layup. And when Rockets forward Kenyon Martin Jr. barreled into the paint to try to crush a dunk over Ibaka’s defense, the center held his ground and didn’t allow the basket.

The Clippers’ desire to get Ibaka minutes before the playoffs hadn’t changed in recent days. But how much do they still want the Western Conference’s third seed, as Lue previously stated?

The Clippers’ Rajon Rondo drives against the Rockets’ Armoni Brooks (7) and Kelly Olynyk during the second quarter.

(Bob Levey / Pool photo via Associated Press)

Entering Friday, only two playoff seeds out of a possible 20 had been solidified, leaving teams few days left to jockey for position. By sitting so many players, the Clippers provided rest for the majority of their rotation while also sliding into fourth place in the West with the loss. Denver and the Clippers are now both 47-24, but the Nuggets hold the tiebreaker. The Clippers will finish in fourth if they lose Sunday’s finale at Oklahoma City. The Clippers can finish in third as well if they win and Denver loses at Portland.

Rookie Jay Scrubb scored 17 points in his third career game, and first start, and Kennard had 23 for the Clippers.

Leonard and George sat for rest, according to the team, and Beverley because of injury management for his left hand. Marcus Morris and Zubac were given de facto nights off as well. Zubac, who has played every game this season and wants to keep his ironman streak alive, played only three minutes — enough time to make the first three-pointer of his career — before checking out for good. Morris played only nine minutes.

Mann didn’t play because of personal reasons, while Jackson’s sore Achilles tendon is “nothing serious,” said Lue, who said the decision was precautionary. Coffey has missed his last seven games while in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.