Clippers center Ivica Zubac's monster game puts him in elite company
Dwight Howard. Moses Malone. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. And now, Ivica Zubac.
The Clippers' center had a huge game in the Clippers win over the Pacers Sunday, scoring 31 points and grabbing 29 rebounds.
Zubac shot 14-of-17 and pulled down 12 offensive rebounds, the most in the NBA since Kevon Looney last November, before fouling out with 3:40 to go.
The 31-29 performance puts him in the company of some of the best rebounders of all time.
The last player to do it was Dwight Howard, who had 32 points and 30 rebounds as a member of the Charlotte Hornets in 2018, a team you may have forgotten he played for.
Kevin Love had a 31-31 for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2010, but before that, you have to go all the way back to Moses Malone in 1982 — a 38-point, 32-rebound performance against the SuperSonics.
Malone did it four times between 1977-82, and other luminaries who reached the dazzling heights of 31 and 29 include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, and Elvin Hayes.
Clipper fans gradually realized they were witnessing historic dominance from the 25-year-old Croatian, who the Clippers acquired in a deadline deal with the Lakers for Mike Muscala in 2019.
After Zubac fouled out, the fans gave him an enthusiastic — if slow-building — standing ovation.
The only disappointment was that Zubac fell one rebound short of a 30-30 game.
After it was all over, Coach Ty Lue said the whole team was pulling for the 30-30, and told reporters, "He should've just let T.J. McConnell go and score (rather than fouling out)".
L.A. is facing an uphill battle with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George out. But when Zubac is an unstoppable force like this, it doesn't matter who is on the injured list for the Clippers.
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