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DeAndre Jordan scored 16 points and had 16 rebounds in the win.
The Los Angeles Clippers withstood a week without point guard Chris Paul, their busiest week of the season, and won three of five games. One of their losses came Friday night on a buzzer beater by Kevin Love, after the Clippers led Minnesota by 12 points in the fourth quarter. Here is a look at the week ahead for the Clippers, who have their second showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers coming up.
Wednesday - Clippers at Lakers, 7:30 p.m. (Prime Ticket, Fox Sports West): Paul hasn't played since a win over the Lakers on January 14, which was a home game for the Clippers. Paul may have been able to play Sunday against Toronto, but he was held out with two off days ahead before the Lakers. Look for the all-world point guard to return Wednesday night at Staples Center, which is a road game for the Clippers.
Thursday - Memphis Grizzlies at Clippers, 7:30 p.m. (TNT): Blake Griffin and company get their first of four games on TNT this season, facing a Memphis team that is somehow 9-6 and have overcome the loss of Zach Randolph to win six straight games.
Sunday - Clippers at Denver Nuggets, 5 p.m. (Prime Ticket): The Nuggets have won four straight road games and six of their last seven overall to climb to 12-5, the second best record in the Western Conference. This will be a tough test for a Clippers team that is just 1-3 on the road so far this season.
For more news and information on the Clippers, be sure to read Clips Nation.
The Los Angeles Clippers bounced back from their sloppy play in the final minutes against the Timberwolves, putting away the Toronto Raptors easily with the final score 103-91. Mo Williams has been playing out of his shoes lately, and had a huge second half finishing with 26 points and leading all scorers. Williams has averaged a point per minute in his last 74 minutes of play.
While the Clippers had a sizable lead at halftime, Mo Williams was the story of the second half. He scored the Clippers' first 19 points of the fourth quarter, capping it off with a reverse layup with 4:16 left in the quarter. He was 3-6 from behind the three point arc and 7-7 from the free throw line.
DeAndre Jordan was huge in the first half, with a double double by halftime. He only scored one point in the second half, but did finish the game leading all rebounders with 16 boards. Chauncey Billups was big with 14 rebounds.
The Clippers were actually outscored in the fourth quarter, after leading by as much as 20. William's hot hand was nothing if not timely. Four of the five Clipper starters finished with double digit points, with William's points coming off the bench.
For more wrap-up of this game, check out Clips Nation.
The Los Angeles Clippers lead the Toronto Raptors 49-37, and they're lead by returning forward Caron Butler. Butler leads the team in scoring with 15 points, but he's in good company with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan also in double digit scoring. Jordan has already reached a double double, leading the team with 13 rebounds.
Staples Center erupted when Jordan threw down a one handed dunk in the first quarter. The call on the radio may have had it best:
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MadelynBurke |
The Clippers defense was also big in the first quarter, holding Toronto 11 points. This is the seventh straight game in which Toronto has scored fewer than 20 points. Demar Derozan leads the Raptors with 10 points off the bench. This is probably the bigger issue for the Raptors, getting close to no production from their starters.
LA had the opposite problem, cooling as the bench players came in. Still, with Chauncey Bills already at nine assists, Jordan at a double double, and Butler contributing big in his first game back, the low scoring Raptors should have a great deal of difficulty coming back in this one.
Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul continues to struggle with a left hamstring injury, forcing him to ride the pine on Sunday as the Clip Show take on the Toronto Raptors at Staples Center.
With Paul out, Caron Butler will return to the starting lineup this afternoon, who missed their last game against the Timberwovles with a hyperextended knee.
Head coach Vinny Del Negro noted the desire to err on the side of caution with his perrenial All-Star instead of rush him back into the lineup:
“We worked him out yesterday, he feels great but I think the smart, prudent thing to do right now is to give him a couple more days and a couple more work outs and a couple more practices,” Del Negro said. “It will be good for him that way, instead of throwing him out there. His minutes will be limited either way. He’s ready to go, but it’s more the doctor and trainer and my decision to bring him along at the pace we’re comfortable with.”
For more on the Clippers, head over to Clips Nation.
Blake Griffin and the Los Angeles Clippers look to rebound after their loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. They picked a good team to rebound against, as the Toronto Raptors have the third worst winning percentage in the East. Here are the relevant details for this afternoon's game:
Records: Clippers 8-5; Raptors 4-12
Location: Staples Center
Time: 12:30p.m. PST
TV: Prime Ticket
Offensive Efficiency: Clippers 106.3 points per 100 possessions (8th in NBA), Raptors 95.6 (29th)
Defensive Efficiency: Clippers 105.8 (25th in NBA), Raptors 103.7 (19th)
Streaks: The Clippers won the last meeting between these two teams; The win snapped a five game losing streak to the Raptors. That victory was the first win for the Clippers over Toronto in LA since Nov 23rd, 2005.
Missing Chris: The Clippers dished for a season low 12 assists against Minnesota. It was the first time since March 11, 2011 that the Clippers had 12 or fewer assits. Blake Griffin has seen his scoring average dip by nearly six points in the four games without Chris Paul.
The Los Angeles Clippers welcome to Toronto Raptors to Staples Center this afternoon, the second time in seven days that the Staples Center has hosted a basketball doubleheader. Once again, it's the Clippers with the afternoon tilt of the pairing. The Minnesota Timberwolves snapped the Clippers' home winning streak on Friday, but the Clippers have three more games at Staples to pad their Pacific Division lead.
Chauncey Billups managed to snag a nice milestone in that loss to Minnesota, moving into fourth all time on the three pointer leader list. His bingos moved him past Peja Stojakavic and behind Jason Kidd. Only Kidd and Ray Allen have more three pointers amongst active players.
It's clear that Mo Williams has the hot hand lately. His 25 point performance on Jan 20th came on the heals of the 26 point performance against the defending champions. Williams is averaging 25.5 PPG while shooting 70% from the field in his last two games. It's the 10th time in his career that Williams has had back to back 25 point games, he's scoring 25+ in three straight games only once in his career.
Kevin Love's three pointer to win the game for Minnesota masked an otherwise great performance as three Clippers finished with 20 points on more. Moving forward with tighter defense should see the Clippers through to that Pacific Division cushion at the end of January.
For more on the Clippers, check out Clips Nation.
Chris Paul Injury: Game-time Decision For Clippers Vs. Lakers
The rematch between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers might be without one of the league's premier superstars. Chris Paul has been out for quite some time nursing the hamstring issue he suffered in the first meeting with the Lakers, and it might keep him out of this one as he hasn't
No one will know until tomorrow night, as Vinny del Negro will make a judgment call around that time. Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times reports.
The Clippers have stayed afloat without Paul, but it's likely they'll need him on Wednesday to try and take advantage of the huge weakness the Lakers are now showing at point guard. Otherwise the issue will probably be disguised with Mo Williams and Chauncey Billups handling primary point responsibilities. The Clippers need Paul back as soon as possible.
To discuss CP3 and the Clippers, head on over to Clips Nation.
Jan 24 2:56p by Avinash Kunnath