Marcin Gortat had eight points and 11 rebounds as the Phoenix Suns took a 46-45 lead into halftime over the Los Angeles Clippers Thursday night at US Airways Center in a nationally televised game on TNT. Gortat helped the Suns outrebound the Clippers 29-24 in the opening 24 minutes.
The Clippers are in search of their second six-game winning streak of the season and in the last month. The Clippers have lost two of three games to Phoenix this season. The Clippers trail the Los Angeles Lakers by a half-game in the Pacific Division.
Blake Griffin led the Clippers with 14 points and six rebounds. Caron Butler added nine points for the Clippers, who shot 42.6% (20 for 47) in the opening half. Chris Paul had six assists but just two points, on 1-of-7 shooting. The Clippers led 29-27 after the first quarter.
Jared Dudley and Sebastian Telfair led the Suns with 10 points each. Channing Frye added five points and four rebounds for Phoenix, which shot 38.6% (17 for 44) in the first half.
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