Five things to take from Clippers’ 109-105 loss at New Orleans

New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis, center, sits on the bench because of injuries with teammates center Alexis Ajinca, right, and guard Tim Frazier, left, in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Sunday, March 20, 2016.

The Pelicans were without Anthony Davis (in the suit) on Sunday, but still managed to beat the Clippers 109-105 in New Orleans/AP photo by Max Becherer

 

– One of the first things that stands out is how many 3-point shot attempts the Clippers took and how few they made. The Clippers shot just 25.6 percent (10 of 39) from beyond the arc. The worst offenders were Wes Johnson (0 of 6), Austin Rivers (0 of 5), Paul Pierce (0-4) and Jamal Crawford (1 of 5). Hard to win like that, even against a Pelicans team missing Anthony Davis.

– This was the Clippers’ 39th game without forward Blake Griffin (quad, hand) and although they got off to a great start, reality seems to be setting in. The Clippers have lost four of their past five and six of their past nine and are now 26-13 sans Griffin.

J.J. Redick had a fine game. He scored 24 points and shot 9 of 11, 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Unfortunately for the Clippers, his marksmanship couldn’t off-set what was a team overall shooting percentage of 40.2.

DeAndre Jordan had just nine rebounds, well under his average of 13.9. It also marked the first time this season Jordan has had sub-10 rebounding games in succession. He pulled down only seven a night earlier in a loss at Memphis.

– The Pelicans committed 23 turnovers to just 14 for the Clippers. And the Pelicans still won. That’s because not only did they shoot better – 49.3 percent to 40.2 percent for the Clippers – they made their free throws. New Orleans shot 80 percent (32 of 40) from the free-throw line, the Clippers shot just 69 percent (29 of 42). DeAndre Jordan made 6 of 11. For him, that’s good.

BONUS TAKE: Good for the Clippers that they came from 14 down with 2:17 to play to trail by just a point twice in the final 27 seconds. But they never should have been down to a poor team missing its best player by 14 to begin with, even if they were the road team. The Pelicans are 26-43. The Clippers are 43-26.

Clippers overcome slow start to lead Pelicans 56-49 at halftime

Chris Paul

Chris Paul/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

The Clippers on Sunday overcame a sluggish start to take a 56-49 lead over visiting New Orleans into the halftime intermission at Staples Center.

The Pelicans went on a 13-0 run that began in the first quarter and went into the second to lead 30-19. But the Clippers regrouped, thanks in part to Chris Paul, who led the team with 16 points and six assists.

Jamal Crawford contributed 10 points.

Ryan Anderson started for the injured Anthony Davis (back bruise) and led the struggling Pelicans (11-24) with 12 points. Jrue Holiday scored 10 off the bench.

The Clippers (24-13) have won eight consecutive games, the past seven without leading scorer Blake Griffin (partially torn quad tendon).

J.J. Redick’s 15 points help lead Clippers to 21-point halftime lead

J.J. Redick

J.J. Redick/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

J.J. Redick scored 15 points and Blake Griffin and Chris Paul scored 13 apiece to lead the Clippers to a 63-42 halftime lead over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night at Staples Center.

The Clippers, who entered having lost eight of 11 since starting 4-0, shot 54.3 percent from the field.

The Pelicans (4-11) got nine points apiece from Anthony Davis and Ryan Anderson. New Orleans shot 36.2 percent.

 

Clippers have 1-point halftime lead at New Orleans, which is sans Davis

J.J. Redick

J.J. Redick/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers, NBA.com

 

Even though the New Orleans Pelicans are without superstar forward Anthony Davis (groin injury), the Clippers led them by just one point (54-53) at halftime Friday at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

Blake Griffin led the Clippers (32-14) with 11 first-half points. J.J. Redick, who did not play Wednesday at Utah because of back spasms, scored 10.

New Orleans (24-22) got 15 points from Eric Gordon.

 

 

Blake Griffin stoked about playing against Anthony Davis of the Pelicans

 

Blake Griffin of the Clippers is guarded by Anthony Davis of the Pelicans during the first half of the Clippers’ 120-100 victory on Saturday at Staples Center/Photo by Associated Press

 

 

Blake Griffin is like any superstar – he loves a challenge.

He had a big one Saturday when he guarded fellow power forward Anthony Davis – and vice-versa – when the Clippers hosted the New Orleans Pelicans at Staples Center. The Clippers won the game 120-100.

Davis came in averaging 25.2 points and scored a rather uneventful 26 as 10 of them came during a fourth quarter in  which the Clippers played mostly reserves. He also grabbed only three rebounds and blocked just one shot; he came in averaging 11.5 rebounds and a league-best 3.06 blocks.

Griffin scored 30 points and had seven rebounds and five assists. Afterward, he said he was jazzed about the opportunity to go against Davis, a 21-year-old in just his third season.

“It is exciting any time you get to go up against a player of that type of caliber,” Griffin said. “He is an amazing player.”

 

 

Five things to take from Clippers’ 120-100 victory over New Orleans

Chris Paul

Chris Paul is shooting a career-high 53.4 percent from the field/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers, NBA.com

 

– It was good to see sixth-man Jamal Crawford rebound from two off games offensively. He scored just four points in Monday’s 127-101 victory over Minnesota and just five in a 114-86 victory over Orlando on Wednesday. He was a combined 2-for-11 from the field in those two games, 0 of 8 from 3-point range. Crawford on Saturday scored 20 points on 6 of 11 from the field, 2 of 4 from beyond the arc. He also made all six of his free-throw attempts.

– The Clippers, in particular power forward Blake Griffin, did a good job of holding the Pelicans’ young superstar power forward Anthony Davis to 26 rather quiet points. Quiet because 10 of them came during a fourth quarter when the Clippers played mostly the second unit with the game pretty much in hand. Davis also had only three rebounds and one block. He entered averaging 11.5 rebounds and a league-leading 3.06 blocks.

– Chris Paul continued on his path to the best shooting season of his career. By making 7 of 13 from the field – 4 of 6 from 3-point range – he is now shooting a career-best 53.4 percent overall. He’s also shooting 44.8 (30 of 67) from 3-point range, easily his best. Paul is a career 47.4-percent shooter. His career percentage from beyond the arc is 36.1.

– The Clippers made 17 of 32 from 3-point range. That’s a percentage of 53.1. They now lead the NBA with a team 3-point shooting percentage of 39.1. Golden State is second at 38.4 with the Atlanta Hawks third at 37.8.

– DeAndre Jordan is continually improving his statistics after getting off to just a bit of a slow start in the rebounding and blocked shots departments. In going for 18 rebounds and five blocks in this victory, he is now averaging 12.2 rebounds (second in the league) and 2.53 blocks (third). He led the league in rebounding a season ago with a 13.6 average and was third in blocks with a 2.48 average.