Once again the Clips showed their teeth and won easily on the road by double digits to record their 13th straight win and the six consecutive on the road. They have already broken their all-time winning record with their last win against the Sacramento Kings. “We hear it all but we’re about just getting these wins and if they come within a streak or when we haven’t won somewhere, that’s fine.” said star forward Blake Griffin after the game. He led all scorers with 23 and some monster dunks during the game. He also grabbed 11 rebounds and made once again clear that he is capable to retain his all-star level gameplay and help his team reach its goals this season. He was successful on 7 of his 11 attempts from the field and also hit a 3-pointer in his 32-minute performance. For yet another time, Clippers Head coach did a great job distributing minutes effectively between the starters and the bench. “I thought our starters did a good job in the first quarter and then our second quarter, we jumped on them” , commented Clippers Coach Vinnie Del Negro.
Chris Paul also had a great game with 17 points and 13 assists. The usual suspects off the bench, Jamal Crawford and Matt Barnes contributed as well as they normally do combining for 37 points. The team shot an overall 55.2% from three point range, 11-21 and also made 38 shots from the field in 71 attempts, 53.5%, while holding their opponents to just 36.3% and a disappointing 3-17 from beyond the arc. Although the Suns had a good start and were up 14-12, two made shots from downtown from Caron Butler boosted the score to 50-69 for the Clips but they didn’t stop there and continued to make it a 31 point game, 60-91 in the end of the third period.
It was a rather non-flattering performance for the Suns, who were left wide open on defense in many times and turned the ball over allowing their opponents to score easy baskets. Jared Dudley had a team-high 19 points and Luis Scola finished with 11, while the rest of the team ended up in single digits. The Suns tied their season low in points scored. Head Coach Alvin Gentry was ejected with 2:33 left in the first half, after receiving two consecutive technical fouls. Six technical fouls were issued to both teams during the first three quarters.
Phoenix played without their star forward Michael Beasly and knew even before the game that this one would be tough for them. The Clippers are still playing without Chauncey Billups and Grant Hill, who both are sidelined with injuries. During their winning streak, they have won by an average of 13 points, four of them are with a 20+ points difference.
The Clippers play in front of their home crowd at Christmas against the Nuggets and then face the Boston Celtics at the Staples Center on Thursday. Last two games of the year are against the Utah Jazz, first one away and the last one, Sunday December 30th at Staples Center. Phoenix plays home on Wednesday night against the Knicks.
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