A blog for fans of the sport of basketball,whether you're a fan of the NBA,the WNBA,college basketball,or the various other professional leagues out there, like the D-League
LOS ANGELES -- Chris Paul's reward for posting a double-double was a trip to the bench, where he was quite happy to remain seated.
Paul had 13 points and 14 assists to go with DeAndre Jordan's 15 points and 13 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers cruised to a 114-90 victory over the Boston Celtics on Monday night.
"It's
great. It's amazing," Paul said. "Not only do we get a chance to rest,
it's all about everybody getting into a rhythm and a flow. We have to
make sure everybody has that as we get ready to play in the playoffs."
Clippers coach Doc Rivers was happy to limit Paul to 26 minutes one night after the point guard played just 23 against Denver.
"It's
huge. Right after the All-Star break he played a ton of minutes,"
Rivers said. "I thought that was a tough stretch for him. Now, allowing
him to play low minutes in back-to-back games, going on the road, it's
good for us."
The Clippers got 67 points from their bench and racked up 29 assists on 44 field goals.
"I
think our ball movement was what it was," Paul said. "Doc has a way of
coming in the day after a game and telling us how many passes we made in
the game. I'm sure tomorrow will be another one of those days when he
tells us we made a lot of passes."
Los Angeles won its third in a
row and moved 5 1/2 games ahead of Memphis, which lost to San Antonio on
Monday night, for fourth place in the Western Conference with nine
games to play. The Clippers clinched a playoff berth on Sunday. Austin Rivers scored 16 points to lead the Clippers, who shot 52 percent. Jamal Crawford added 13, Wesley Johnson 11 and Jeff Green 10.
"I
thought (the Clippers) deserved a lot of credit for the way they made
shots, the way they made plays," said Boston coach Brad Stevens. "And
then any time we got close we didn't play with any composure to back
over the hump." Isaiah Thomas scored 24 points and Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart each added 13 for the Celtics, who shot just 35 percent and had a four-game winning snapped. Jared Sullinger added nine points and 11 rebounds for Boston.
"I
think it is natural for a young team to try and make up a deficit with
`home run plays,' Bradley said. "We were out there playing 1-on-1
basketball, and that's not the kind of team we want to be."
The
loss dropped the Celtics, one of four teams separated by two games in a
fight for Nos. 3-6 in the Eastern Conference standings, to fifth place, a
half-game behind Miami. The Heat beat Brooklyn on Monday night.
Ahead
30-26 in the second quarter, the Clippers ran off a 22-8 burst, taking a
52-34 lead on Rivers' 3-pointer with 4:47 left in the half. The
Clippers led 67-50 at halftime shooting 59 percent, 64 percent on
3-pointers.
The Celtics fought within 79-68, only to see the
Clippers reel off 13 of the game's next 15 points. Los Angeles took a
92-70 lead on Crawford's second of back-to-back 3-pointers with 33
seconds remaining in the third quarter.
PIERCE IN PAIN Paul Pierce was removed from the game with 2:06 left in the second quarter after scoring on a driving finger roll. He sprained his right ankle and bruised his right knee on the play, according to the Clippers. He did not return.
DEFENSIVE DISAPPEARANCE
In
their first meeting on Feb. 10, each team's last game before the NBA
All-Star break, the Clippers beat the Celtics 139-134 in overtime.
"Brad and I were laughing," Rivers said. "We said our defense went on All-Star break a day early."
TIP-INS
Boston: Jae Crowder,
sidelined by a high ankle sprain since March 11, missed his eighth
straight game. ... The Celtics have three more games on this West Coast
road trip. ... There was plenty of green at Staples Center. Several
times during the first half, the chant, "Let's go Celtics!" broke out.
Los
Angeles: All 13 Clippers who appeared in the game scored at least 2
points. ... On the Clippers' first 11 baskets, Paul assisted on seven
and scored three others. He had a double-double (10 points, 10 assists)
with 2:06 left in the first half.
UP NEXT
Boston: At Portland on Thursday.
Los Angeles: At Minnesota on Wednesday.
NEW ORLEANS -- Jrue Holiday
returned from a toe injury and took a hard shot to the eye for his
trouble. Still, he managed to provide the Pelicans with some relief from
their recent rut before absorbing the latest blow to his health.
Holiday
scored 10 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and New Orleans
snapped a three-game slide with a 99-91 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday night.
Returning
from a two-game absence because of his toe injury, Holiday took over a
tight game in the final minutes, scoring six points during a 9-0 run
that gave New Orleans a 93-85 lead.
But when he walked off the court in the final minute, his right eye was nearly swollen shut because of a collision with Kristaps Porzingis.
Pelicans
coach Alvin Gentry said team doctors needed to examine Holiday's
orbital socket -- just the latest medical matter for his
injury-decimated team.
"I'm going to send out an all-points bulletin to anybody in the French Quarter or anywhere else; we need a voodoo doctor or something here," Gentry said. "We've got to find the bones under this place or do something."
Still,
the Pelicans won for the first time this season when scoring fewer than
100 points. New Orleans had been 0-33 in such games.
Former Knick Toney Douglas scored 16 points and Luke Babbitt added 14 for the Pelicans. Carmelo Anthony scored 22 for New York, while Robin Lopez added 17 points. Porzingis had 16 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.
A little boy ran onto the court during a stoppage in play
in the final minutes and went straight to Anthony, giving the Knicks
star a brief hug. Anthony kindly patted the boy on the head.
"It
was a little kid," Anthony said when asked about his affectionate
response to the child. "I was shocked. I didn't really know who was it
until I actually looked over and saw that it was a kid."
New York was in position to win when Jose Calderon's
3 capped an 8-0 run that put the Knicks up 85-84 with 3:05 left. But
New York then missed two shots and turned the ball over twice while the
Pelicans surged back in front.
After hitting a pair of free throws
to put New Orleans ahead 88-85, Holiday added a layup in traffic and a
tough, turnaround fade from 17 feet. The Pelicans weren't threatened
after that.
New York led much of the game and by as many as 10 points in each half, but labored through costly dry spells.
New York was up 59-49 after Lopez's dunk in the third quarter. Then Holiday, Babbitt and Dante Cunningham each hit 3s during a 15-0 run that put New Orleans back in front.
"We
should have won this game. There's no if, ands or buts about that,"
Anthony said, noting that the injury-decimated Pelicans are missing most
of their key players. "Most of the guys (still available to play) on
their team -- no disrespect to them -- they play a limited role. They
play limited minutes."
COURT INVASION
The chief of arena
security, Russ Bourgeois, declined to comment on the incident in which
the boy ran onto the court to hug Anthony.
In New York City, the
so-called "Calvin Klein Law" subjects those who walk onto the court
during a game to arrest and fines. The law was passed in 2003 after
designer Calvin Klein walked onto the court at Madison Square Garden and
attempted to chat with Knicks player Latrell Sprewell.
"I
think it was because he was a little kid, they just let him go,"
Anthony said. "Definitely a security issue though, for sure."
The
boy ran back into the stands and up stairs past an apparent female
guardian, who, looking embarrassed, appeared to usher him toward the
exits.
TIP-INS
Knicks: Two of Porzingis' blocks thwarted apparent dunk attempts -- one by Alonzo Gee and one by Alexis Ajinca. ... Baton Rouge native Langston Galloway
had eight points and four assists in 22 minutes with a contingent of
home-state fans in the stands wearing blue and orange T-shirts with his
name on them. He appeared to twist his right ankle in the fourth quarter
and had to come out of the game.
Pelicans:
Cunningham and Ajinca each scored 12 for the Pelicans. ... Gee scored
nine points in the first half but left the game in the third quarter
with a right quadriceps injury and did not return. ... F Ryan Anderson missed his fifth straight game with groin soreness in both legs, while guard Norris Cole
missed his 11th straight with back soreness. ... New Orleans put its
36th different starting lineup of the season on the court, opening with
Holiday and Babbitt at guard, and Ajinca at forward and Omer Asik at center.
UP NEXT
Knicks: Visit Dallas on Wednesday.
Pelicans: Visit San Antonio on Wednesday night.
