The Clippers trailed the Phoenix Suns 33-28 after one quarter Wednesday night in exhibition play at Staples Center.
Chris Paul had 14 points in the quarter and made 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Eric Bledsoe had 14 points for Phoenix; he was 3 of 3 from 3-point range.
J.J. Redick/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers
DeAndre Jordan scored 11 points, grabbed six rebounds, doled out four assists, made two steals and had one block in the first half of Tuesday night’s game at Golden State. But the Warriors held a 62-60 lead; the Clippers led 33-27 after one quarter.
J.J. Redick led the Clippers with 18 points in the half and Spencer Hawes, who started in place of the idle Blake Griffin at power forward, had 10 points and four rebounds. Matt Barnes, who came in having made just 2 of 24 shots in the previous five exhibition games, made 1 of 5 from the floor and scored three points.
Jamal Crawford has seven points off the bench.
Besides Griffin, Chris Paul is getting the night off.
The Clippers shot 44.2 percent from the field in the half.
Stephen Curry leads the Warriors with 12 points and Klay Thompson and Justin Holiday had seven apiece.
Golden State shot 56.8 percent from the field.
Blake Griffin/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers went on a 9-0 run to finish the third quarter and overcome an eight-point deficit to take a 75-74 lead into the fourth quarter against the Utah Jazz on Friday night at Staples Center. The Clippers (0-3) are looking for their first exhibition season victory.
Blake Griffin has 17 points for Los Angeles, Jamal Crawford 16.
Jamal Crawford/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers
The Utah Jazz led the Clippers 47-46 at halftime Friday at Staples Center.
Blake Griffin led the Clippers with 11 points in the half and Jamal Crawford and Spencer Hawes had 10 apiece.
Gordon Hayward had 13 points for the Jazz.
Chris Douglas-Roberts made a 3-pointer for the Clippers with three seconds left in the half.
Minutes into his meeting with media outlets after Friday’s afternoon practice, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers broke off from answering the opening question to discuss the aftermath of the Donald Sterling scandal and how it had been affecting the organization as a whole.
On Friday morning, Rivers went to downtown Los Angeles to meet with Clippers employees, ranging from ticket sellers to those who work in marketing, and spoke with them about the Sterling story that had become the dark cloud hanging over the Clippers.
“It was really hard to see them,” said Rivers. “I just felt so bad for them.”
Rivers said employees were in tears as they shared stories of them getting nasty phone calls and being called names and how they had a hard time dealing with the story as it broke. Rivers said that the employees even thought about not working.
On Tuesday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued down a lifetime ban on Sterling for his racist remarks and a $2.5 million fine. Silver also stated that he would be doing everything in his power to force the sale of the Clippers.
“What I did today for me, was far more important than this stuff because they need it, they really do” said Rivers of the meeting. “They need it even more than our players do right now, they need somebody.”
Rivers said the meeting was arranged by the heads of departments within the organization.
“They needed someone to ask them to continue to work and support,” said Rivers. “You know, we are still tying to put this thing together.”
Game 7 of the Clippers and Warriors will be played Saturday at the Staples Center.
The question as to whether Blake Griffin would play Wednesday night at Phoenix has been answered. Griffin started and played nine minutes in the first quarter, during which he scored five points – all on free throws – with one rebound and one steal. He missed both of his field goal attempts. Griffin missed Monday’s game at Minnesota with back spasms that limited him to six minutes Saturday at Houston.
The Clippers led 30-25 after one quarter, thanks to Chris Paul, who made a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left and a subsequent free throw for a four-point play. Oh, and DeAndre Jordan had seven rebounds in the quarter. That’s a pace for 28.