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 "Obviously, they are the defending champions and a very tough team
to beat at home, but we have to go in there with our game plan and
be ready to play," Clippers point guard Chris Paul said of
Wednesday's clash at Oracle Arena in Oakland.
Forward Blake Griffin scored 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds
Monday, leading the Clippers to a 102-96 victory over the Suns at
Staples Center.
Paul had 17 points and five assists as the Clippers opened the
season 4-0 for the first time since the 2007-2008 campaign. They
have never started 5-0.
Guard Jamal Crawford came off the bench to score 11 points, and
guard J.J. Redick finished with 10 for Los Angeles.
"I thought our bench won the game tonight," said Clippers coach Doc
Rivers, whose reserves outscored Phoenix's 41-29. "(The bench) came
in in the first half when we struggled and (Phoenix) came out with a
seven-point lead. I just want one game where both units play well at
the same time."
Forward Markieff Morris led the Suns (2-2) with 19 points to go
along with eight rebounds, while center Tyson Chandler scored 14
points and grabbed a game-high 17 boards.
"That's all you can ask for on the road is having a shot at the end
of the game, and we definitely had that," said Chandler, who hit
seven of 10 shots from the floor. "We missed some shots, they made
some shots. When you're on the road against a good team, the only
thing you can ask is be in the game down the stretch, and we did
that. We just didn't come up with it tonight."
Phoenix guard Eric Bledsoe scored 16 and handed out seven assists,
while his backcourt mate Brandon Knight added 12 points, eight
assists and seven rebounds. However, the two combined to make just
10 of 39 field-goal attempts, including only two of 12 from behind
the 3-point arc.
"In the first half, we had open looks," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek
said. "We just weren't making any shots. We said (at halftime) that
hopefully the second half is our half, and we came out and started
making shots, got back in the game and it was a battle after that.
We had some guys that didn't shoot the ball very well."
Two free throws by Griffin put the Clippers up 96-91 with 2:11 left
in the contest.
Morris cut the deficit to three with a put-back, but Griffin
answered with a jumper for a 98-93 cushion with 1:36 left. That
turned out to be the difference.
The Suns failed to convert on several opportunities down the
stretch, allowing the Clippers to beat them for the eighth
consecutive time.
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The Clippers bolted past the Suns with a 15-0 surge in the second
quarter, capped by center DeAndre Jordan jamming a reverse alley-oop
pass from reserve guard Austin Rivers for a 39-32 advantage with
6:20 remaining in the quarter.
Los Angeles led 48-39 at the break.
Neither team shot well in the opening half. The Suns managed to
convert just 31.1 percent of their attempts, including an awful
stretch of 22.7 percent in the second quarter. The Clippers made
42.1 percent in the second quarter and 40 percent for the half.
The 3-point shooting was much worse, with both clubs misfiring on 13
of 15 shots.
The Suns rallied in the third, opening the quarter on a 20-7 tear
for a 68-65 lead after a layup by Chandler with 2:52 remaining.
After the teams exchanged leads, forward Josh Smith's 3-pointer with
35.3 seconds left gave the Clippers a 75-72 advantage heading into
the final period.
Jordan had his streak of 34 consecutive games with double-digit
rebounds snapped. He finished with nine boards, three blocks and
seven points.
NOTES: Suns coach Jeff Hornacek believes this will be the season G
Eric Bledsoe rises to elite status. "I think when Eric ended last
season, he told himself and told us he was going to stick around
Phoenix and really work on his game and try to step it up to another
level," Hornacek said. "So far this year, he's doing it." Bledsoe,
who averaged 22.7 points in the first three games, had a 33-point
performance Saturday against the Portland Trail Blazers. ...
Clippers F Blake Griffin had the second-highest three-game scoring
output (96 points) at the beginning of a season in franchise
history. World B. Free's 105 points to open 1979-80 are tops. ...
Phoenix hosts the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.
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