Clippers In Town As Heat Go For 3rd Straight Win
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MIAMI (SportsDirect Inc.) -- The Los Angeles Clippers aren't stifling teams on the defensive end like they did earlier in the season, but they are moving in a positive direction as far as wins are concerned.
The Clippers will try to push their latest streak to four straight when they visit the Miami Heat on Friday.
Los Angeles opened a three-game East Coast swing with a 113-108 win in Orlando on Wednesday and found a spark in guard Austin Rivers, who joined the starting lineup and exploded for 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting.
Rivers, who had his jersey retired by his high school in the Orlando area on Tuesday and needed to clear the NBA's concussion protocol before playing and burying seven 3-pointers, told reporters, "it's been an eventful past three or four days."
The Heat snapped out of a five-game slide with two straight victories and can put together their first three-game winning streak with a triumph on Friday.
Goran Dragic did the heavy lifting in a win over Washington on Monday but Hassan Whiteside led the way with 26 points and 22 rebounds in Wednesday's 95-89 victory over Indiana.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), FSN Sun (Miami)
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (19-7): DeAndre Jordan blocked three shots on Wednesday to move past Benoit Benjamin (1,117) and into first place on the team's all-time list. Jordan, who is often singled out for praise on the defensive end by head coach Doc Rivers, got the game ball on Wednesday after adding 22 points and 12 rebounds to the three blocks. "It's real humbling just to be able to do something like that," Jordan told reporters of the record. "For a team that drafted you when you were 19 years old, I think that's awesome. I only want to build off of it and continue to get better."
ABOUT THE HEAT (9-17): Wednesday marked the second 20-20 game of the season for Whiteside, who averaged 12 points and 10.7 rebounds in three games before exploding for 21.5 and 19 in the last two contests. "He was dialed in," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters. "When he's playing at a high level, we're a completely different basketball team." Dragic and Whiteside are beginning to get some help with players trickling back into the lineup after a rash of injuries, and small forward Justise Winslow (wrist) was the latest to return.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Clippers SF Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (shoulder) sat out Wednesday and is day-to-day.
2. Heat SF Luke Babbitt (hip) should be the next one off the injury report and is questionable for Friday.
3. Los Angeles took both meetings last season, including a 100-93 triumph in Miami on Feb. 7.
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