On a night that was a tale of two halves, the Los Angeles Clippers (45-20) hung on for a 112-105 victory over the visiting Phoenix Suns (36-27) at STAPLES Center. The Clippers were fueled by Blake Griffin’s 37 points on night. Doc Rivers’ game plan seem to be going as planned as the Clippers pushed their lead to 25 points before allowing the Suns to close the gap to within six points in the closing minutes.
The paint was the Clippers’ home in that first half; dominating down low, on fast breaks and isolation plays. The Suns were outscored 28 to 16 in points in the paint by the Clippers in the first half. Chris Paul had 17 points and 11 assists to complete a double-double in the game, but none were more important than his last basket in the lane to stop Phoenix’s last run in the closing seconds.
The viewers at home saw the Blake Griffin, PJ Tucker scuffle as multiple replays played incident which took place in the fourth quarter. The Suns seemed to be fueled by Tucker’s ejection at the 5:28 mark left in the game and with the Clippers holding a 14-point lead (104-90).
The Morris twins who combined for 27 points on the night went to work in the second half due to Griffin and DeAndre Jordan being in foul trouble. The Clippers were ice cold late in that fourth quarter, until they snapped out of it with a Paul jumper. The Suns were then left to play foul game to save the clock.
This team has grown up this year and having a character win like this helps the team’s confidence down the stretch of the regular season. After Wednesday game coming up against Golden State, the next six contests will be against teams that are below .500. This game should serve as a wakeup call that the team needs to play all four quarters.
Jevone Moore a writer, photographer by trade and a coach in life at heart. Former UCLA Bruin football player during the good years, City Champs 92-95.