After resting for Friday night’s win in Sacramento, Paul Pierce returned and dropped in a circus layup Monday against his former team to move the Los Angeles Clippers one step closer to the postseason.
The Truth scored eight points and filled the stat sheet with five rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal in 22 minutes as the Clips outlasted the Brooklyn Nets, 105-95. Brooklyn gave the playoff-bound Clips a run for their money, but L.A. clamped down late and finally earned some separation in the fourth quarter of the 10-point win.
“When you are playing a team that is out of the playoffs, if you don’t make it really hard for them, then they are going to have fun,” said head coach Doc Rivers. “That is how they played. To make those teams go away, you have to make it a hard night for them, defensively. We did it down the stretch, but we didn’t do it all game.”
L.A. came back multiple times Monday night in a game that featured 13 ties and 11 lead changes. After missing their first five field goals, the Clippers scored seven unanswered to close the gap. Luc Mbah a Moute hooked in a shot before Paul pulled up for a jumper, and then drained a triple, cutting the deficit to 10-9. The Clippers took their first advantage of the game, 21-19 at 3:44 of the first, with J.J. Redick’s second triple of the frame. The Clips kept it at two, 29-27, going into the second.
The game stayed within four points all the way up until the end of the second quarter, but L.A. took over late. The Truth forced the final lead change of the half when he drew a foul as his circus hook shot banked in off the glass. He added the free throw to put the Clips up three. Finally, Redick canned another three to put the Clips up six, 52-46, going into the locker room.
The Clippers kept the excitement rolling, extending their lead to seven quickly after the break. But Brooklyn later used a 9-0 run to take a 72-69 advantage. Jamal Crawford, who paced the Clippers with 26 points off the bench, broke a 79-all tie with a buzzer-beating jumper to end the third quarter.
Then after a back-and-forth game, the Clippers separated themselves in the final frame. Paul stripped Brook Lopez of the ball before Crawford pulled up for a jumper, giving the Clippers their largest lead of the night, an 11-point, 97-86 advantage.
Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan kept the energy up to punctuate the strong finish. CP3 fed Jordan for three alley-oop slams in the final 2:09 to help the Clippers secure their third win in four games. The two also added a pair of double-doubles, with CP3 totaling 23 points and 12 assists and Jordan adding 10 points and 10 boards.
WESTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS – MAR. 1
1. Golden State Warriors (53-5)
2. San Antonio Spurs (50-9) 3.5 GB
3. Oklahoma City Thunder (42-18) 12 GB
4. Los Angeles Clippers (39-20) 14.5 GB
5. Memphis Grizzlies (35-24) 18.5 GB
6. Dallas Mavericks (32-28) 22 GB
7. Portland Trail Blazers (32-28) 22 GB
8. Houston Rockets (29-31) 25 GB
NEXT UP
The Clippers (39-20) face the Oklahoma City Thunder (42-18) three times in March, beginning Wednesday at the Staples Center. The game, which will broadcast nationally on ESPN, is set for 7:30 p.m. PT.
At fourth in the rankings, the Clippers hope to gain traction in the West. They sit 2.5 games behind the Thunder, who narrowly edged them 100-99 on Dec. 21. In that game, small forward Kevin Durant hit the go-ahead bucket with 5.8 seconds to go. Durant leads Oklahoma City in points (27.9) and rebounds (8.1), while point guard Russell Westbrook leads in assists (10.3) and steals (2.2). The duo makes up the league’s top scoring tandem.
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