No Kawhi Leonard.
No Paul George.
No James Harden.
No way of helping or hurting their playoff status.
Already locked into the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, the Clippers gave their stars the day off during the regular-season finale against the Houston Rockets on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.
But a former Clipper gave the fans in L.A. something to cheer about in the fourth quarter — and that something was free sandwiches from Chick-fil-A.
The Rockets, who had already been eliminated from postseason contention, held an eight-point lead when popular center Boban Marjanovic stepped to the line for a pair of free throws with 4 minutes 44 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Marjanovic’s miss on his first attempt drew an unusually enthusiastic response from the crowd, and the 7-foot-4 player seemed to understand why. The Clippers and Chick-fil-A run a “Fowl Shot Promotion” in which fans at the arena receive free chicken sandwiches if an opposing player misses back-to-back free throws in the fourth quarter.
Kind-hearted soul that he is, Marjanovic smiled, nodded, pointed at himself multiple times and seemed to mouth the words, “I got you” to the crowd — and then apparently tanked the second shot, much to the delight of hungry Clippers fans in attendance.
Marjanovic, who played 56 games for the Clippers between 2017-19, triumphantly pointed his index finger upward following the miss. According to the Clippers, it was the seventh time this season the fans received free chicken through the promotion with the fast-food company that uses the “Eat Mor Chikin” slogan.
It may not have been the only play Marjanovic gave away for fun. Less than a minute later, he mysteriously lost a jump ball against 6-2 Clippers guard Xavier Moon, much to the amusement of the other Rockets players.
Marjanovic finished with 13 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets, who won 116-105 to end the season at 41-41, their first non-losing campaign since 2019-20.
Meanwhile, the Clippers enter their playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks with rested starters (Leonard’s status is unknown after he missed the last eight games with knee issues) and well-fed fans, making it a great day for all involved.
