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 "It was all about defense, energy, (and) we moved the ball," said
Los Angeles point guard Chris Paul, who scored 17 points and handed
out 14 assists. "We had a great practice yesterday where we
competed. We just talked about moving the ball, and we did that
tonight. Things came a little bit easier."
Forward Blake Griffin scored 21 of his 31 points in the second half,
and the Clippers rolled to victory at Staples Center.
It was the third time in four games Griffin scored 30 or more
points. He hit 14 of 20 field-goal attempts against Charlotte. He
scored 35 in a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Dec. 26, and he
had a season-high 40 points in a win over the Utah Jazz on Saturday.
"We have the upmost confidence in (Griffin)," said Paul, who scored
all of his points in the second half. "He works so hard. Tonight,
(his performance) was unreal. They didn't know what to do. It was
impressive."
Los Angeles forward Jared Dudley finished with 20 points, hitting
six of nine 3-point tries and seven of 10 shots overall. Guard Jamal
Crawford added 11 points for the Clippers.
"Those guys just played really well," said Charlotte point guard
Kemba Walker, who finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. "They
picked up their defense and made us take some tough shots that we
weren't able to make. On the offensive end, they played great. They
moved the ball really well and they made shots."
Center Al Jefferson also had 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for
Charlotte (14-19). Guard Gerald Henderson added 12 points, while
forward Anthony Tolliver scored 11.
The Clippers (22-12) bounced back after suffering their worst defeat
of the season Monday night against the Phoenix Suns at Staples
Center. Against Charlotte, which dropped its fourth in a row and its
17th consecutive game to a Western Conference opponent, Los Angeles
dominated the second half, outscoring the Bobcats 56-29.
"We played a championship-caliber team," Charlotte coach Steve
Clifford said. "They played a great second half. I thought we played
well in the first half. Then they turned up the defense in the
second half, our turnovers hurt us, and Blake Griffin shot great.
Sometimes, against a team the caliber of this, they get it going. "We'll learn from it, watch the film, try to get better. But
we did some good things."
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The score was 56-56 at the break. The Clippers, though, opened
the third quarter with a 17-6 run, capped by Dudley's 3-pointer
that gave Los Angeles a 73-62 advantage.
Dudley, who struggled recently with his outside shooting, scored
11 points in the third, hitting all four of his field-goal
attempts, three of those coming from behind the arc. The
Clippers outscored the Bobcats 25-13 in the quarter and took an
81-69 lead into the fourth.
"When we play from side to side, we're a different team," said
Dudley, who had 14 of his points after intermission. "For me, to
see the ball go in once or twice breeds confidence."
Griffin converted four of his five field-goal attempts in the
third for eight points. In the quarter, Los Angeles hit 55
percent of its shots (11 of 20) compared to 21.1 percent (four
of 19) for the Bobcats.
Overall, the Clippers shot 55.3 percent (47 of 85) from the
field, while Charlotte hit just 38.2 percent (29 of 76).
NOTES: Coach Doc Rivers forced the Clippers to watch two replays
of their 107-88 debacle against the Phoenix Suns on Monday
night, when they committed 20 turnovers and shot 36.5 percent
from the floor. "We saw a lot of things as a team that we've
slipped on," Rivers said. "Our transition 'D' to start with,
which has been unbelievable, was horrendous, as bad as it's been
in a long time." ... The Bobcats entered the game giving up 93.8
point per game, the third-lowest average in the NBA. They ranked
first in fewest points allowed in the paint (35.8 per game) and
fast-break points (9.8 per game). ... Charlotte caps its
five-game road trip with games Thursday at the Portland Trail
Blazers and Saturday at the Sacramento Kings. ... The Clippers
are headed for a Texas road swing, playing the Dallas Mavericks
on Friday and the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday. ... The game
drew a sellout crowd of 19,160.
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