Paul Pierce and the Los Angeles Clippers continued a strong run toward the All-Star break as they earned two weekend wins after making it rain from deep in the Sunshine State.
The storm started early in Orlando on their way to a 107-93 win over the Magic on Friday, then picked up again late in their 100-93 victory against the Miami Heat on Sunday afternoon.
Early buckets from Paul Pierce, who totaled 12 points, three rebounds and a steal Friday, helped the Clippers settle into a rhythm. Within the first five minutes in Orlando, No. 34 led all scorers with seven points. LA came out firing from three. JJ Redick opened the game with a triple before knocking down a trio from the foul line. The Truth also drained a trey as part of the Clips’ early attack from beyond the arc.
Paul’s rhythm continued moments later, as he pulled down a rebound on one end and hit a midrange jumper on the other to make it 14-5 in favor of Los Angeles. The Truth then knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Clips an 18-9 advantage with seven minutes remaining in the first.
No. 34 was held scoreless for the remainder of the half, as the Magic made their way through the paint to close the gap in the second stanza. By being patient, finding open shots and capitalizing off LAC turnovers, Orlando got within one in the second quarter. But solid defense translated to sufficient offense for the Clippers, as they separated themselves before halftime.
Late in the first half, Jamal Crawford, grabbed a rebound and dished to Redick, who pulled up and buried a transition triple to increase the lead to 13. Moments later, Crawford, who tallied 20 points off the bench stole the ball from Jason Smith and converted a running layup, extending the LA lead to 16. The Clips held an 11-point advantage at the break.
Orlando got the lead back into single digits just seconds into the second half, but The Truth did his part to slow the progress of the Magic. Just as he had to make an early impact in the first half, Paul knocked down some quick shots coming out of the break to keep the Clippers in front. First, No. 34 faked out a defender before drilling a long two to make it a seven-point game. Then, after Orlando matched to cut the difference to five, Paul buried a good look from beyond the arc to make it 62-54 in favor of LA.
Again, the Magic gained ground by maneuvering around LAC defenders to get into the paint. But it was a three-ball that got Orlando within two, 75-73, with 15.7 seconds to go in the third quarter. However, just when the Magic came back, Lance Stephenson scored the next nine points for the Clippers to help them regain a double-digit lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Magic never led, but remained competitive by capitalizing off extra opportunities, scoring 11 second-chance points and 30 points off the Clippers’ 22 turnovers. Chris Paul totaled 21 points, six assists and four steals, while DeAndre Jordan recorded a double-double with 12 points and 18 rebounds.
Defense was the difference, however. Clippers shot 54 percent from the floor with eight treys, holding the Magic to 42 percent shooting with just four connections from deep.
HISTORY MADE IN MIA
After scoring 12 points in 20 minutes at Orlando, Paul came through with seven in 22 minutes in Miami—and that was enough for him to etch his name in yet another history book.
In his 79th game against Miami, The Truth became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer against the Heat. No player has scored more or played more games against the franchise in league history. After his seven points in LA’s seven-point win, he has 1,597 for his career against the Heat.
LAC shook off a 1-of-15 start from the floor to shoot 54 percent in the final three quarters. Free-throws kept the Clippers in the game early before they found their shooting stroke.
Paul was key when it came to giving the Clippers the lead for good in the second stanza. With 1:17 left until intermission, No. 34 drained a triple to give LA a one-point advantage.
The Heat snatched the lead right back with a Chris Bosh three-pointer. But when Bosh tried to extend Miami’s lead with a hook shot, Paul crashed the defensive glass, leading to a Redick three that gave LAC a 46-45 edge going into the break. All 10 Clippers to play wound up in the scoring column and seven players had nine or more points. Head coach Doc Rivers loved the team effort on both ends of the floor.
“That was a team win because nobody really had it going,” Rivers said. “But our defense really had it going all game.”
The Clippers led by as many as 12 in the final frame after Crawford’s consecutive jump shots put them ahead, 77-65. Bosh hit another triple before Paul put them back up by double figures with a jump shot of his own. The Heat got within three twice in the fourth quarter, but were never able to get over the hump. CP3 punctuated the game with back-to-back three-pointers before feeding it to Jordan for a dunk, which made it a three-possession game the rest of the way.
With their sixth win in seven games, the Clippers secured a home-and-home sweep of both Florida teams for the season.
NEXT UP
The Clippers (34-17) will be looking to add to their ledger of season sweeps on Monday night in Philly where they take on the league’s worst team, the Philadelphia 76ers (8-43).
The young Sixers team has been struggling all season, evidenced by their 0-18 start to the season. No. 3 overall draft pick Jahlil Okafor leads Philadelphia with 17 points per game, while Nerlens Noel guides the defensive effort with 8.1 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.6 blocks per contest.
Monday’s game marks the third of four stops on a tour of the East coast before the All-Star break. The Clips will finish the first half in Paul’s old stomping grounds of Boston on Wednesday night against the Celtics (31-22). But first comes Philly.
Tipoff of that game is set for 4 p.m. PT at the Wells Fargo Center and can be seen on Prime Ticket.
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