Clippers’ Norman Powell seizes the moment against Lakers

LOS ANGELES — He missed nearly a month, 27 days spent watching as his team worked toward the playoffs. He endured 11 games sitting on the bench with a bum shoulder, a fire burning inside to get healthy and return to the court.

And when Norman Powell finally slipped on his No. 24 jersey and got back to work, he did it with a vengeance. In his first game back, Powell scored 13 points and followed that with 16 points against the Memphis Grizzlies and 12 in a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. It turns out, Powell was just warming up.

Against the Lakers on Wednesday night, Powell turned up the heat, scoring 27 points on 8-of-15 shooting and hitting all 10 of his free throws to pace the Clippers to a 125-118 victory against the Lakers, their fourth this season, at Crypto.com Arena.

Powell said his performance – highlighted by a high-arching lob to Kawhi Leonard, who dunked one-handed in the fourth quarter –  was simply a matter of staying in the moment, a moment that was building for weeks.

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue credited Powell and Bones Hyland’s energy for giving the Clippers a needed spark when the game got close.

“They came in and changed the tempo of the game,” Lue said.

Powell said it was just a matter of “staying within myself. Just finding a rhythm.”

Powell, who also had four assists, two rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot, added that “I think it’s like my fourth game back coming off injury after missing 11 games so it was just being prepared and just staying mentally locked in and as Lue says, not playing so angry.”

Powell said he earned the nickname “Angry Norm” from former Toronto Raptors teammate Kyle Lowry during his rookie season. He said his temper stems from his passion for basketball.

“It just shows how much I love the game and how much I commit to it, and my preparation every single day,” Powell said. “So, I expect to have a high expectation for myself, so I put a lot of internal pressure on me to be great, for myself and for the team. So, when it’s not going a certain way, I get a little frustrated and get a little mad.”

Powell kept a level head throughout the game, especially at the line. His free throws enabled the Clippers to maintain their lead when the Lakers staged a 19-2 run that cut the Clippers’ double-digit lead to eight points in the third quarter. He said the Lakers were focusing on Leonard, which opened lanes.

“I was able to get some fouls that I thought I didn’t get in the first quarter,” he said. “I was talking to the refs a little bit, but just being in attack mode and seeing how the game was going and what they were giving me, I just took it.”