Clippers Beat Celtics 119-106 For 7th Straight Win
BOSTON (AP) — J.J. Redick scored 27 points, Chris Paul had 21 points and 10 assists, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Boston Celtics 119-106 on Sunday for their seventh consecutive win.
Blake Griffin had 21 points and nine rebounds for Los Angeles, which jumped out to a 68-47 halftime lead. DeAndre Jordan had 15 points and 14 rebounds, and Matt Barnes scored 18 points.
Boston dropped a half-game behind Brooklyn for the Eastern Conference's eighth and final playoff spot. The Nets beat the Los Angeles Lakers earlier Sunday.
Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics with 19 points. Tyler Zeller had 16, Kelly Olynyk finished with 14 and Brandon Bass scored 13.
Los Angeles pushed its advantage to 35 points midway into the third quarter. Boston made a late charge, closing to 111-100 on Gigi Datome's 3-pointer with 4 minutes to play, but the Clippers responded with five straight points.
Los Angeles got off to a fast start, with Redick and Barnes connecting from long range on its first two possessions. The second half had a similar start, with Barnes and Redick each making a 3 to help spark a 14-4 run that pushed the Clippers' lead to 82-51.
Los Angeles led 105-79 after three.
At that point, most of the crowd seemed bored and some were chanting for former Celtic Brian Scalabrine, now one of the team's TV analysts. A number of fans started heading for the exits during a timeout with just under 9 minutes to play.
The game was delayed for about five minutes late in the fourth quarter when a fan needed medical attention near the Clippers' bench and was attended to by a Celtics team physician.
TIP-INS
Clippers: Los Angeles was perfect on a three-game East Coast swing, winning by an average margin of 21.7 points. ... Former Boston coach Doc Rivers improved to 4-0 against the Celtics since joining the Clippers. ... Jordan was 3 for 15 from the free-throw line, including six straight misses when Boston kept fouling him intentionally.
Celtics: Coach Brad Stevens was impressed with how Los Angeles was playing. "If you don't match (intensity) you get blown out and they're capable of blowing anybody out anyway," he said before the game. "I hadn't watched the Clippers much until this week. I think they're on a level with the elite. These guys are playing really well."
UP NEXT
Clippers: Host Golden State on Tuesday.
Celtics: At Charlotte on Monday.
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