Clippers’ Ivica Zubac reacts to first career triple double

Zubac remained in the game with Derrick Jones Jr., Kobe Brown, Jordan Miller, and fellow Balkan Bogdan Bogdanovic. Out of a sideline out-of-bounds play, Zubac and Bogdanovic connected on a dribble-hand-off that saw Bogdanovic immediately pull up for three. After circling around a few times, the ball dropped through the net, giving Zubac his 10th assist of the night.

“I told Bogie I’ll get it to you and you’ve got to shoot it no matter what. And he did. Bogie is a big time shot maker. I told him he’s never paying at dinner again, but I’m glad he made that shot.

“I didn’t know if it was ever going to happen, but I always knew I was a solid passer and with teams doubling me now, it’s just playing out of delay action a lot, being involved in a lot of DHO’s, getting in the right angle, having guys like Norm, James, Kawhi, Bogie coming off those DHO’s shooting the ball, going downhill and making shots.”

The triple-double in the teams’ final home game at Intuit Dome was a perfect cap to what’s been a career year for Ivica Zubac and, by many accounts, a surprisingly strong year for the Clippers.

“It felt great,” Zubac added. “I don’t know if its perfect, but it felt great. We’ve been great at home the whole year. The fans have been amazing, we’ve got a real home-court advantage, and it feels great in the last regular season game to finish with a big triple-double.”

Zubac has a double-double in 13 straight games, which is a new career-high for the Clippers center. He’s also recorded 57 double-doubles this season while playing a new career-high 78 games and 32.6 minutes per contest.

“I’ve said it numerous times,” James Harden said after the win. “Zu has been playing unbelievable. For him to get to his first career triple-double is unbelievable.”

The Clippers will now take on the Sacramento Kings on Friday night before playing against the Golden State Warriors in the final game of the 2024-25 NBA regular season.

With the Warriors falling to the San Antonio Spurs at the buzzer on Wednesday night, the Clippers control their destiny for a top seed in the Western Conference. There are numerous tiebreaker scenarios still left to watch unfold, but the Clippers are in prime position to finish top five or potentially even host a playoff series.