Nets Come Back Down To Earth, Get Rolled By League-Best Clippers
LOS ANGELES (CBSNewYork/AP) — Even as their leads expand to 30 and sometimes 40 points, the Clippers swear they're not paying attention to the spread.
For the NBA's best team, it's all about consistency.
Chris Paul had 21 points and nine assists and Blake Griffin added 20 points in a 127-95 rout of the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night that improved the Clippers to 10-1 with their seventh straight victory.
"We have a singular focus," Paul said. "No excuses, we said we're going to come out the same way every night. It's all about playing the right way. We got to keep building."
Los Angeles came in having outscored opponents by an average of 15.1 points, largest in the league. Brooklyn quickly found itself relegated to the Clippers' growing scrap heap.
"It's actually good for our guys to see a team like this," new Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. "They can see how well they are playing and their cohesiveness. They've been together for a while and they're executing well. They turned us over and got us out of our game."
Bojan Bogdanovic led the Nets with 18 points and Sean Kilpatrick added 14. Brooklyn's season-high 22 turnovers led to 35 points by the Clippers.
J.J. Redick added 18 points, Luc Mbah a Moute scored 11 points and DeAndre Jordan had 14 rebounds for the Clippers, who shot 53 percent from the floor while extending the best start in franchise history. Their 127 points were a season high.
"The defense is so good right now our offense is allowed easy baskets," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "They're angry when the other team scores."
Los Angeles raced to a 35-7 lead to start the game, highlighted by Jordan's reverse dunk off Griffin's alley-oop pass. The Nets didn't score the rest of their 14 first-quarter points until the last two minutes of the period and finished with their lowest point total in a quarter this season.
Brooklyn went on its only run of the game in the second, scoring 10 straight points to close to 51-34.
Paul re-entered and hit a 3-pointer that launched a 20-13 spurt to give the Clippers a 71-47 halftime lead.
Leading 89-59 in the third, Griffin and Jordan energized the fading crowd with consecutive one-handed jams. Griffin stuffed a pass from Redick , and on their next trip up the court, Jordan dunked in front of Justin Hamilton, whose only defense was to stick his arms straight up in the air.
The starters' work was done after that, with Griffin and Jordan joining Paul, Redick and Mbah a Moute in sitting for good.
The Clippers' bench increased the lead to 102-71 heading into the fourth, when Griffin was on his feet laughing and pumping his arm in the air.
TIP-INS
Nets: They haven't beaten the Clippers in LA since 2010. ... Brooklyn fell to 1-4 on the road. ... G-F Caris LeVert (left foot rehab) and G Jeremy Lin (strained left hamstring) sat out.
Clippers: Jordan needs two made free throws for 1,000 in his career. ... G Jamal Crawford, the king of four-point plays , had one in the fourth, making a free throw after getting fouled on a 3-pointer he launched from in front of his team's bench. He fell down and was quickly helped to his feet by giddy teammates. ... Crawford led the bench with 17 points and Raymond Felton had 11. ... Wesley Johnson missed his second straight game with a left heel contusion.
LESSON LEARNED
Nets rookie reserve guard Yogi Ferrell had a close eye on Paul.
"It's very interesting playing against Chris Paul," Ferrell said. "I'm going to continue to be aggressive and push the ball and I'm not going to back down from anyone."
FIRST POINTS
Clippers rookie Diamond Stone finished with six points, his first in the NBA. He played the game's final eight minutes after making his debut on Oct. 30 against Utah.
HE SAID IT
"CP is into the hardcore metal rock so he gave me a little head bump." — Jordan on his sideline head knock with Paul in the second half.
UP NEXT
Nets: They remain in town to play the Lakers on Tuesday to complete a back-to-back. The Nets have lost two straight to them.
Clippers: Host Memphis on Wednesday, with LA having gone 5-1 in the teams' last six regular season meetings.
(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
