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 With Clippers forward Blake Griffin scoring 29 points, Los
Angeles posted a 110-103 win over the Wizards at Staples Center.
"We battled the last few minutes. They made some plays down in the
end, and give them credit, they pulled it out," Wittman said.
Four clutch free throws by center DeAndre Jordan, whom Wittman
decided his team should intentionally foul twice, sparked the
Clippers to their fourth win in a row. Jordan, who shoots a shade
over 40 percent from the free-throw line, finished with 14 points
and 17 rebounds. He converted six of his 10 foul shots.
"I'll probably ask (coach) Doc (Rivers) if I can shoot the techs
from now on," Jordan joked after the game.
Guards Jamal Crawford and J.J. Redick scored 21 and 20 points,
respectively, for Los Angeles, which played at home for the first
time since wrapping up a 5-2 road trip. Griffin, who hit 12 of 20
shots, had nine rebounds but committed a game-high six turnovers.
The Clippers (33-15) also got 16 points and nine assists from point
guard Darren Collison.
Guard Bradley Beal led Washington (22-23) with 20 points, while
point guard John Wall added 19 points and 11 assists. Forward Nene
chipped in 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
"We just missed shots," said Washington forward Trevor Ariza, who
had 13 points and six assists but missed all six of his 3-point
attempts. The Wizards shot just 3-for-22 (13.6 percent) from behind
the arc compared to 6-for-15 (40 percent) for Los Angeles. "We got
good looks. We got what we wanted, made the right plays. They just
did a good job defensively."
Washington, which was playing its second game in as many nights
after beating the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, again failed in
a bid to top the .500 mark for the first time since the 2009 season.
Seven times the Wizards had a chance to top the elusive mark this
season, and seven times they failed.
Instead, the Wizards fell to the Clippers for the 10th time in the
past 11 meetings, including six in a row at Staples. The Wizards
haven't beaten the Clippers in Los Angeles since February 2008.
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"It wasn't pretty, that's for sure," said Crawford, who shot
4-for-12 from the floor, including 2-for-7 from 3-point range, but
hit 11 of his 12 free throws. "It was a grind-it-out game. We
withstood their run, we leaned on our defense, and whenever we do
that, we have a good chance to win."
The Clippers led 62-51 at the half behind Griffin's 16 points on
6-of-8 shooting. They increased their advantage to 72-56 four
minutes into the third quarter after a basket by Collison. The
Wizards rallied and cut the deficit to 81-74 heading into the fourth
quarter.
Washington closed to within one several times during the fourth
quarter but failed to take the lead.
"This was a good win for us," Rivers said. "That was a hard game in
my opinion. We still think that we are on this road trip. I just
thought that was a really hard game for us, but we played really
well."
A layup by Wizards reserve center Kevin Seraphin cut the gap to
100-99 with three minutes remaining in the game, but a layup by
Collison and two free throws by Jordan, who was intentionally
fouled, gave the Clippers a five-point advantage with 2:21 left.
Beal missed two free throws with 2:07 remaining before the Wizards
intentionally fouled Jordan again. Jordan both for a 107-99 lead
with 2:02 left.
NOTES: Clippers C DeAndre Jordan tied Danny Manning for fourth place
on the franchise list for consecutive games at 206. Jordan has the
NBA's longest active iron-man streak. ... Los Angeles coach Doc
Rivers continues to campaign for Jordan to be added to the All-Star
roster, with the reserves being announced Thursday. Jordan leads the
league in rebounding and field-goal percentage. ... Rivers said
Washington G Bradley Beal, second on the team in scoring at 17
points per game, is an underrated defender. "I think people look at
him as a shooter, but they should look at him as far more than
that," Rivers said. ... The Clippers visit the Golden State Warriors
on Thursday in another clash between the Western Conference
contenders who quickly have become heated rivals. ... The Wizards
begin a five-game homestand Saturday against the Oklahoma City
Thunder.
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