Clippers Hold On, End 7-Game Road Skid Against The Nets
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Blake Griffin and J.J. Redick each scored 21 points, and the Los Angeles Clippers ended a seven-game, two-state road losing streak against the Brooklyn Nets with a 105-100 victory Saturday night.
Chris Paul had 15 points and 14 assists for the Clippers, who hadn't beaten the Nets on the road since Dec. 11, 2007, back when the Nets played in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Clippers never beat them during the Nets' brief stay in Newark and had been 0-3 in Brooklyn.
DeAndre Jordan finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds as the Clippers bounced back from Thursday's loss in Chicago to improve to 3-1 on their road trip that ends Monday in Detroit.
Thaddeus Young scored 18 points and Jarrett Jack had 16 points and 11 assists for the Nets, who were trying for their first three-game winning streak of the season.
The Clippers made 11 of their first 15 shots but didn't build much of a lead until a 10-0 run in the second quarter made it 42-26 on Paul Pierce's 3-pointer. They maintained a comfortable cushion that reached 18 and never seemed in danger of losing until the Nets started intentionally fouling Jordan in the fourth quarter as their catalyst for a comeback.
Brooklyn got within two points on multiple occasions, but Paul and Griffin had consecutive baskets to make it 101-95 with 49 seconds to play.
The Nets had won six of seven at home but couldn't overcome a series of misadventures, from Andrea Bargnani's pass out of bounds behind him, to Brook Lopez and Young colliding while going for a ball and knocking it directly to Jordan for a dunk, to an unusual lane violation on a technical foul shot, when Jack appeared to start walking toward the basket while Paul — who should have been the only one there — was still shooting.
They still almost pulled it out, getting 15 points apiece from Joe Johnson and Bojan Bogdanovic.
TIP-INS
Clippers: Assistant coach Lawrence Frank was the Nets' coach last time they lost at home to the Clippers. ... A loss Saturday and the Clippers would have matched their longest active road streak against an opponent. They have dropped eight in a row to Golden State.
Nets: Backup guard Shane Larkin was limited to six minutes after getting poked in the eye in the first half.
WHAT TIME IS IT?
The unusual 5 p.m. EST tip took some adjusting for Doc Rivers. "I read the schedule, 5 o'clock, I thought they meant West Coast. That means 8 o'clock. I thought it was an 8 o'clock game up until two days ago and they said, no, the game's actually at 5," the Clippers coach said. "So it's not bad actually. I mean, I'm not used to it, but it's kind of nice because you can go to dinner after a game. That's nice." Told that statement sounded like it would come from Gregg Popovich, who enjoys a good meal and fine wine, Rivers responded: "That's the way I'm thinking. I'll be drinking like Pop later, too."
UP NEXT
Clippers: Visit Detroit on Monday.
Nets: Host Orlando on Monday.
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