Patrick Baldwin Jr. surpasses new career-high in Clippers loss

OCEANSIDE -- The San Diego Clippers played their second night of a back-to-back against the Iowa Wolves, and lost 105-98.

It was a shorthanded roster for Clipper head coach Paul Hewitt. No two-way players nor anybody down on assignment. It was just up to the standard G League guys, but that doesn't dim the Clips' fight, as they clearly try to adopt a "next guy up" mentality.

Hunter Sallis, San Diego's newest pickup via Iowa, played in his second game for them. An undrafted rookie out of Wake Forest, he signed a two-way with Philadelphia and played some minutes with them as well as the Delaware Blue Coats. After averaging over 12 points and three assists per game, he found himself in a San Diego Clippers uniform.

After a late run by the Wolves, the Clippers found themselves in a close one point game, 50-49 in favor of Iowa. Both teams were cooking offensively, but quick drives to the basket and lack of transition defense allowed the Wolves to climb ahead.

It was Patrick Baldwin Jr. who kept San Diego in the game during the third quarter. By the end of the frame, the forward had 33 points. However, the Clippers were still down 81-79 heading into the fourth.

It was then when San Diego essentially ran out of gas. A 19 point fourth quarter where the Wolves outscored them led to their loss. Baldwin Jr. did everything he could -- finishing with a career-high 36 points to go along with seven rebounds.

"You know we were down some guys (with the two-ways being absent), so we were just trying to think of ways to stretch our lead and keep that two game winning stretch into three," Baldwin Jr. said after the game. "Sometimes games shake out like this where you may have a good night but the team isn't figuring it out, but I've had bad nights too where the team did figure it out, it's really just a balance."

Baldwin Jr. then noted their "theme of the season" as when they're short on players, it's really just that next man up mentality coming into play.

As far as how he feels Sallis is fitting into the lineup, Baldwin Jr. said "(Sallis) touches a lot of points that you want in a basketball player. He can pass, can shoot, extremely athletic and plays well on the ball. I'm excited to see him build (during the course of the season)."

Baldwin Jr. noted, "We got a lot of guys who are true pros. They put in the time and the work -- we've beaten some good teams and I think we're in a good spot." The Clippers will continue their season with a rivalry game against the South Bay Lakers in El Segundo on January 14. Tip-off will be at 7pm.