Crawford, Paul Help Clippers Hold Off Spurs, Boost Edge In West
LOS ANGELES (AP) — DeAndre Jordan had 26 points and 18 rebounds, Jamal Crawford added 26 points and the Los Angeles Clippers beat San Antonio 119-115 Thursday night, increasing their lead over the Spurs to 1½ games in the West.
Chris Paul had 22 points and 16 assists, and the Clippers outscored the Spurs 56-46 in the paint despite the absence of Blake Griffin, who is recovering from right elbow surgery.
Crawford and Paul came up with huge baskets in the final 32 seconds, with the Clippers clinging to one-point leads both times. Crawford took a pass from Paul and made a 3-pointer from the right corner.
Marco Belinelli answered with a 3 that drew the Spurs to 115-114.
Paul hit a 16-footer with 8 seconds to go that kept the Clippers ahead by three. J.J. Redick made a pair of free throws to close out the win. Los Angeles was 27 of 52 from the line, with its attempts a season high.
Tim Duncan had 30 points and 11 rebounds and Tony Parker had 21 points and 13 assists for the Spurs, who had their two-game winning streak end in their first game since the All-Star break. Kawhi Leonard, who came in averaging 15.4 points, went 1 for 11 from the floor and missed all six of his 3-point attempts.
Paul helped engineer a Clippers rally late in the third quarter. His 3-pointer triggered a run of four straight 3s, with two by Crawford and one from Redick, before Glen Davis' driving layup tied the game at 76. Davis got fouled and made the free throw for the Clippers' first lead of the second half, 77-76.
From there, neither team led by more than four points the rest of the quarter, with Jordan's layup giving theClippers a 90-88 lead going into the fourth.
Los Angeles opened the fourth on a 10-5 run that extended its lead to 100-93. Jordan made 4 of 6 free throws to keep the Clippers narrowly ahead.
Duncan reeled off six points in a row, bringing the Spurs within two. They got within one twice in the final 1:32, but the defending NBA champions could never take the lead in the fourth quarter.
The Clippers sure gave the Spurs a chance. Jordan was 5 of 14 on free throws in the final period, with the Spurs hacking him away from plays knowing the big man is vulnerable at the line.
There were 15 lead changes in the first half, including 10 in the opening quarter, before the Spurs moved to a nine-point lead in the third.
TIP-INS
Spurs: They didn't go to the line for the first time until Parker made two free throws with 1:22 left in the second quarter.
Clippers: Jordan was 4 of 14 from the free throw line in the second. ... The Clippers went 3-3 in a six-game span against opponents with a record of .500 or better. ... Reserve G Austin Rivers sat out with a sore left ankle.
UP NEXT
Spurs: At Golden State on Friday as a nine-game trip continues.
Clippers: Host Sacramento on Saturday.
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