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 Point guard Chris Paul scored 30 points, dished out 15 assists and
pulled down six rebounds, and the Clippers rolled to a 113-99
victory over the Wizards at Staples Center.
"We got the stops when we needed to. That was good for us," said
Paul, who scored 17 points in the second half and finished hitting
12 of 21 shots.
Shooting guard J.J. Redick added 26 points, while forward Blake
Griffin finished with 22 points. Center DeAndre Jordan grabbed 23
rebounds to go along with 10 points.
"We moved the ball around," Jordan said. "I mean we had 33 assists,
so the ball's definitely popping around."
The win allowed the Clippers (45-25) to pull within a half-game of
the Portland Trail Blazers, who lost to the Orlando Magic, for the
No. 4 spot in the Western Conference standings.
Point guard John Wall had 19 points, 10 assists and six rebounds to
lead the Wizards (40-29), who had their five-game winning streak
snapped. Shooting guard Bradley Beal scored 18 points.
"We missed some easy shots," said Wall, who was 7-for-18 shooting.
"That kind of hurt us. Even when we made shots, they got out the
ball out quick and pushed the pace. They beat us at our game of
fast-break points. They got into a shooting rhythm."
Los Angeles used its 3-point shooting to build double-digit a
double-digit lead over Washington and maintain it throughout the
contest. The Clippers hit 12 of 23 long-range shots compared with
six of 19 for the Wizards. Eleven of the Clippers' 3-pointers
occurred in the first half. Overall, the Clippers made 52.3 percent
of their shots from the floor to 43 percent for the Wizards.
"I feel like every shot I take is going to go in," said Redick, who
connected on nine of 15 attempts, including four of seven
3-pointers. "It's a great feeling as a player."
The Wizards opened the fourth quarter with an 11-4 run to cut Los
Angeles' lead to 94-88 after reserve center Kevin Seraphin scored on
a layup at 8:37 of the period. A 9-2 Clippers surge gave them a
103-90 lead after a 3-point basket by Redick with 5:19. Washington
never threatened again.
"They came out shooting threes, and they were making threes," said
Beal, who hit five of 10 shots and made three of five from behind
the 3-point arc. "We knew that's what they were going to do. We knew
that they were all capable shooters, and they knock down shots. We
didn't run them off the line or we didn't contest a lot of them."
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The Clippers led by as many as 16 points in the first half before
taking a 66-54 lead at the break. Paul and Redick each scored 13 in
the first half as the Clippers shot 56.5 percent to 41.3 percent for
the Wizards.
Redick made three of four 3-pointers, and, in the first quarter, he
broke teammate Jamal Crawford's single-season franchise record (161)
for treys, set last season.
"Jamal had mentioned something to me two or three weeks ago, when I
was at 130-something," Redick said. "It's cool to break Jamal's
record, a good friend and a guy I love playing with."
In the third quarter, Washington cut the deficit to 76-69 after a
jumper by Nene, who finished with 14 points, with 6:29 remaining in
the quarter. However, the Clippers pushed the margin to 90-77 by the
end of the third.
"I thought we played good basketball throughout the game," Clippers
coach Doc Rivers said. "They made a run; I figured at some point
they would. But, we called a timeout and got a basket for J.J., and
then we got a couple of stops and we took it from there."
NOTES: Clippers coach Doc Rivers continues to admire F Paul Pierce,
who played under Rivers and helped him win the 2008 NBA title with
the Boston Celtics. "He is amazing," Rivers said. "He's playing the
same way he played 10 years ago. That's why he's so good. He can
play until he decides he doesn't want to play." ... Rivers said the
condition of injured G Jamal Crawford, who missed his ninth game
with a right calf contusion, has improved, but the team has no idea
when the reigning Sixth Man of the Year will return. ... The Wizards
defeated Los Angeles 120-100 in their initial meeting in Washington
on Dec. 6. ... Both clubs resume play Sunday. Washington visits the
Sacramento Kings, while the Clippers host the New Orleans Pelicans.
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