Preview: Bulls at Clippers

[November 19, 2016]  The Los Angeles Clippers own the best record in the NBA and they will be tested by another hot squad when they host the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. Los Angeles improved to 11-2 with Friday's 121-115 road win over the Sacramento Kings while the Bulls have won four consecutive games and five of their past six contests.

Power forward Blake Griffin scored a season-best 29 points and shooting guard J.J. Redick added 26 points as the Clippers continued their strong start with the victory over the Kings. "You look at our team over the years and we've been a pretty unselfish team but I think this year we're all on the same page," Griffin said after Friday's win. "I think our biggest change is defensively. We really trust the system." Chicago has notched back-to-back victories to start a six-game road trip and persevered through an uneven showing while producing an 85-77 win over the Utah Jazz on Thursday. "It's not going to be pretty every night," Bulls guard Dwyane Wade told reporters. "There's certain teams it's going to be ugly and we knew that coming in with this team, but it shows a lot about the character of the team to be able to pull out a win like this early in the season."

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, WGN (Chicago), Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)

ABOUT THE BULLS (8-4): Chicago is starting to click and the combo of Wade and fellow All-Star Jimmy Butler is making the team harder to defend. "I think Jimmy said this earlier: You want teams to play to you, too," Wade told reporters. "You don't always want to have to match up to teams. You want teams to have to match up to you. Good teams can play many different styles and we want to get to be a good team. We want to build to be that." Butler is averaging a team-best 24.2 points per game while Wade is second at 17.3.

ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (11-2): Griffin was limited to just 35 games last season because of injuries, most notably the broken hand he suffered when he punched then-equipment staffer Matias Testi in the face. He felt he had a lot to prove entering the season and he is currently on a run of six straight 20-point outings. "This offseason my focus was on getting healthy," Griffin said. "I spent the whole summer rehabbing and once I could get on the court, doing my usual stuff — shooting, dribbling, ball-handling, all that. Trying to be a complete player."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Clippers have won six of the past eight meetings.

2. Chicago PG Rajon Rondo (ankle) could return after missing two straight games, while SF Doug McDermott (concussion) didn't make the trip and will sit out for the third consecutive game.

3. Redick has made 13 3-pointers over the past two games and his streak of making at least one in 69 consecutive contests is the longest current streak in the NBA.

PREDICTION: Clippers 105, Bulls 100

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