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 DeAndre Jordan contributed 20 points, 18 rebounds and some crucial
buckets down the stretch, rallying the Clippers to a 103-98 victory
over Oklahoma City at Staples Center.
Chris Paul scored 21 points and handed out 13 assists as the
Clippers (40-20) wiped out a 22-point deficit to prevail. J.J.
Redick added 16 points, while reserve Jamal Crawford chipped in 12
points.
"Our intensity (was the key)," said Paul, who had 13 points in the
second half. "The defense picked up in the second half. I went out
to start the fourth quarter, and Jamal Crawford looked at me and
said, 'We are going to get us back in this thing by the time you
guys get back in.' I don't know if he is a fortune teller, but he
did it."
Kevin Durant scored a game-high 30 points and collected 11 rebounds,
but the All-Star committed six turnovers for the Thunder (42-19).
Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook finished with 24 points, 12
assists and six rebounds. Westbrook had five miscues, combing with
Durant for 11 of the 17 Oklahoma City turnovers to only six for the
Clippers.
Thunder forward Serge Ibaka had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
With the win, the Clippers closed within 1 1/2 games of the Thunder
for the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference.
"It's tough, man," said Durant, who shot 12-for-27 and missed nine
of 12 attempts from 3-point range. "I hate losing like that. (If we)
want to be a great team, we're fooling ourselves. If we want to win
a bunch of games during the regular season, it's cool, but we're
fooling ourselves the way we're playing. It's no discipline. We've
got to do better."
Thunder coaches, players and front-office personnel met Wednesday
morning upon learning of the death of part-owner Aubrey McClendon,
who perished in a fiery car crash in Oklahoma City.
McClendon died less than 24 hours after being charged with
conspiring to accept illegal bids for the purchase of oil and
natural gas leases in northwest Oklahoma.
His demise wasn't on the Thunder's minds as the game slipped away,
but the emotional toll was even more devastating than the loss to
Los Angeles.
After trailing by double digits for much of the contest, the
Clippers overcame the Thunder with a 26-5 run. A dunk by Enes Kanter
boosted the Thunder to a 93-77 lead with 7:26 remaining, but things
began to unravel from that point on. The Clippers also outscored
Oklahoma City 35-13 in the fourth quarter.
"We were letting them move the ball around too much," said Crawford,
whose late bucket was the difference. "It was almost like it was
scripted."
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A bucket by Jordan pulled the Clippers within 97-96 with 1:49 left.
He put the home team on top with a three-point play off a Paul miss
with Thunder guard Andre Roberson hanging all over him at 1:19.
After Ibaka missed a baseline jumper, Crawford banked in a shot in
the lane for a 101-97 edge with 38.6 seconds remaining.
Durant made one of two foul shots with 33 seconds left to slice the
margin to three. However, after Crawford misfired on a jumper,
Westbrook's 3-point attempt was off the mark. Two free throws by
Redick sealed the deal.
"I've said this before, the best thing for this team is adversity,"
Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. "It needs adversity. It doesn't
need to be easy, in my opinion. Here's an adverse situation, so what
do we do going forward?"
Oklahoma City led 85-68 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Thunder dominated the first half, rolling to a 58-38 advantage
at the break behind Durant's 16 points. The Thunder grabbed a
club-record 39 first-half rebounds to 21 for the Clippers. For the
game, they owned a 63-45 advantage.
Neither team shot well. The Thunder made 40.8 percent of their shots
to 39.8 for the Clippers.
Clippers backup point guard Austin Rivers returned after missing 10
games with a broken left hand. He had six points in 18:30.
Los Angeles played without forward Luc Mbah a Moute, who missed the
contest after sustaining a left eyelid laceration Monday in a win
over the Brooklyn Nets.
NOTES: Clippers F Paul Pierce passed Elvin Hayes for No. 16 on the
NBA's all-time games list with 1,304 contests played. ... Los
Angeles signed reserve F/C Alex Stepheson to a second 10-day
contract. He did not play Wednesday. ... The Thunder visit the
Golden State Warriors on Thursday. The Clippers host the Atlanta
Hawks on Saturday.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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