The Los Angeles Clippers generated so much fanfare after signing both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in free agency, but it feels like you haven’t actually seen much of them on the floor together.

George’s late debut due to injury, and the aggressive load management plan built for Leonard, has caused a bunch of Clippers games to have only one or none of their superstars.

The duo’s lack of floor time continues to cost the Clippers.

Today was another great example of a game that could have used Kawhi Leonard.

With 7:59 to go in the fourth quarter, a Montrezl Harrell (18 PTS, 8 REB) slam put the Clippers up 98-90. The Oklahoma City Thunder answered that with three straight buckets to cut the deficit to two, and the two teams traded buckets until the Clippers held their final lead of the game at 106-105 with 2:06 left in the game.

The Thunder would close out the game by outscoring the Clippers 13-6 in the last two minutes of the game, completing a 118-112 victory that delighted their home fans.

What could the Clippers could have used in those two minutes? A reliable superstar who you could give the ball to close out the game. You could argue that George (18 PTS, 2 REB, 3 AST) was in the lineup, but he was having an off night shooting 6 of 17 from the field.

Could you say Lou Williams (22 PTS, 7 AST) was there, but he was also shooting 7 of 20 from the field.

This is where Leonard would have helped. The Fun Guy has ice in his veins and is never fazed by crunch time. Merely having him on the floor to space things out would already have helped, without even mentioning is ability to score from anywhere on the floor. In close games like this, having an elite mid-range scorer tends to come in handy when play slows down.

I’m not belittling what the Thunder did, either. The key piece that sent George to LA was Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, and man did he play like he had something to prove to the fans. His 32 points and 5 assists came on 12-25 shooting and he was really up for it. Dennis Schroder (28 PTS, 5 REB, 6 AST) also continued to impress from the bench.

What I’m saying is that the Clippers really need to step it up.

By the way, the game’s MVP might be the Oklahoma City crowd. They showed a lot of class and gave George an ovation in his return to the city. After seeing George’s performance, it feels like it was a smart and calculated move. They probably remembered that Indiana Pacers fans gave him a hostile reception and he responded with 36 points.

It also sucks for paying fans who want to see a glimpse of superstars when they visit. Load management seems to be going a bit too far, and the Clippers continue to pay a price for it.

Other results:

The Dallas Mavericks somehow blew a 30 point lead against the Toronto Raptors. Kyle Lowry (32 PTS, 8 REB, 10 AST) almost outscored the Mavericks in the fourth quarter with 20 points against their 21. Maybe they do need Luka back a bit quicker after all.

The Bucks manhandled the Pacers 117-89 in a game that saw The Greek Freak (18 PTS, 19 REB, 9 AST) barely miss a triple-double.

Jayson Tatum (39 PTS, 12 REB) had a career game against the Hornets in a 119-93 win.

The Nuggets wrecked the Lakers, who were missing LeBron James, 128-104. Paul Millsap led all scorers with 21 points.