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 With forward Blake Griffin playing like the All-Star starter he
was announced as earlier in the day -- scoring 22 points by halftime
-- the Clippers steamrolled the Brooklyn Nets 123-84 at Staples
Center on Thursday night.
The 22-point first half was Griffin's biggest output of the season,
but he had plenty of help. Clippers center DeAndre Jordan had a
double-double (12 points and 10 rebounds) by halftime, and point
guard Chris Paul had 11 of his 17 assists in the first half.
"Everyone played well, obviously, and I'm thrilled to death when you
play well," said Clippers coach Doc Rivers, whose team led by as
many as 46 points in the second half. "I thought the starters set
the tone, and I thought they did it with their defense. Then I
thought our bench in the second quarter was the difference. It was
our defense that really got us going tonight."
With the Clippers (29-14) leading by 33 points at halftime, Los
Angeles' starters got limited minutes in the second half. Griffin
finished with a game-high 24 points. Jordan wound up with 14 points,
12 rebounds and two blocked shots.
 Paul took just five shots in the game and scored six points. He
became the third player in NBA history to have as many as 17 assists
in fewer than 25 minutes, sitting out the fourth quarter. Rivers was
one of the other point guards to do it.
"I welcomed Chris to the club," Rivers joked of the statistical
oddity that was displayed on the scoreboard. "It was a big deal
until he saw my name up there."
The in-game rest was a welcome sendoff for the Clippers, who play
nine of their next 10 games on the road so that Staples Center can
host the Grammy Awards show.
The Nets, meanwhile, absorbed their ninth loss in 11 games. Playing
without point guard Deron Williams (rib injury) and forward Kevin
Garnett (coach's decision, rest), the Nets did little but watch the
Clippers' taillights disappear into the distance Thursday night.
"Not having a little bit of energy is one thing, but we have to
compete and play together," Nets coach Lionel Hollins said. "They
did a good job of taking away some stuff that we had been having
success with.
"When you're down 43, 44 points -- that's ugly."
Guard Jarrett Jack hit a 3-point shot that gave the Nets a 17-14
lead six minutes into the game. The Nets could have gone back to the
hotel at that point -- and, defensively, it looked as if they did.
The Clippers scored the next 10 points and 15 of the next 17 with
Griffin and Jordan doing most of the damage. It only got worse for
the Nets in the second quarter. Los Angeles missed just five shots
in the quarter -- three of them in one sequence as Clippers guard
Jamal Crawford tried three 3-pointers.
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The Clippers outscored the Nets 56-20 over the final 18 minutes of
the first half after Jack's 3-pointer, setting up extended garbage
time in the second half.
"Obviously, as you see tonight, we're still inconsistent, especially
defensively," Nets forward Joe Johnson said. "We messed up the
coverages and we just never got anything right.
"They just kept getting easy basket after easy basket. At some
point, you have to give a hard foul or do something to try to change
the game."
The Nets (18-25) were led by center Mason Plumlee with 16 points. No
other Nets starter reached double-digits as the Brooklyn shot just
37.5 percent in the loss.
Los Angeles shot 59 percent from the floor.
NOTES: Clippers F Blake Griffin was named one of the Western
Conference's five starters for this year's All-Star Game on Feb. 15
in New York. It is Griffin's fifth consecutive All-Star selection
and fourth consecutive start. ... Clippers PG Chris Paul was not
named to the starting five, but Los Angeles Lakers G Kobe Bryant
was. Given the news Thursday that Bryant has a rotator cuff injury,
Paul could be named to the starting lineup as a replacement, or he
could make the team when reserves are announced Jan. 29. "I'm
assuming Chris will be on it," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "It'd
be a shame if he wasn't. ... I think probably publicly, nationally
(Paul gets overlooked). It's just 'Groundhog Day' -- a little like
(Spurs F Tim) Duncan that way. People don't realize how good he is."
... Amid speculation that the Nets would look to trade him before
the deadline, Nets C Brook Lopez started in place of Kevin Garnett
and finished with four points and one rebound. Lopez came in
averaging 21 points in his previous three games and 21.4 in his
previous seven games against the Clippers.
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