Doc Rivers likes what veteran reserve Hedo Turkoglu has brought to team

Hedo Turkoglu

Hedo Turkoglu/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers, NBA.com

 

Veteran reserve Hedo Turkoglu had another nice game for the Clippers in Sunday’s 106-78 rout of the Lakers at Staples Center. Turkoglu scored 12 points and grabbed three rebounds in just 12 minutes and 18 seconds of play. He made 4 of 7 from 3-point range.

Turkoglu, 36, averages just 3.8 points on the season. But he’s averaging 9.7 points in three games this month. He averaged 5.3 points in the month of March with a high of 19 in a 116-105 victory over Sacramento on March 18 at Sleep Train Arena.

Coach Doc Rivers likes what he’s seeing from the 6-foot-10 Turkoglu, who is shooting 44.5 percent (57 of 128) from beyond the arc.

“He was great,” Rivers said of Turkoglu after Sunday’s win. “Hedo makes shots. That’s why we brought him here. That’s why we like him here. He’s a veteran and he’s never in a rush. He plays at a great pace and I think that pace is really good for the second unit. Everyone else in the second unit is going so fast, so it’s good to get to one guy who can slow it down.”

 

Five things to take from Clippers’ 106-78 victory over hallway-neighbor Lakers

Chris Paul

Chris Paul doled out 15 assists in Sunday’s victory over the Lakers/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers, NBA.com

 

– Perhaps the best part about this victory is that the Clippers did not have a letdown against a very poor Lakers team that now has more losses (56) than any other Lakers’ team in franchise history. The Clippers led this game by as many as 43 points (99-56) by attacking and attacking some more until there was no doubt about the outcome.

– Since this was the Lakers’ home game, that meant it was a road game for the Clippers. With the victory they have now won a franchise-record 25 games away from home. As guard J.J. Redick said afterward about the record, “You have to have mental toughness.” At 25-15 on the road, the Clippers have one more road game April 14 at Phoenix in the regular-season finale.

Chris Paul took only seven shots. But that seemed by design as he was having fun dishing out sweet passes to his teammates, which resulted in him doling out 15 assists. Paul is now averaging a league-high 10.2 assists. John Wall of the Washington Wizards is close behind at 10.0.

– The Clippers once again showed how adept they are from 3-point range by shooting 55.6 percent (15 of 27) from beyond the arc. Matt Barnes and Hedo Turkoglu both shot 4 of 7 from there, Redick was 2 of 2 and Austin Rivers 2 of 3. The Clippers are now shooting a collective 37.9 percent from long distance, third in the league behind Golden State (39.5) and Atlanta (38.6).

– The defense played by the Clippers was noteworthy. They held the Lakers to 38.7 percent shooting. Most importantly, they took rookie hot-shot Jordan Clarkson and threw a blanket over him. Clarkson, who of late has been very good, came in with point totals of 30, 26 and 27 in three of his previous seven games. But he scored just two points Sunday. Clarkson took just six shots, making one, because he had difficulty getting open. The game before, Friday against Portland, Clarkson scored 27 points and took 20 shots – making 12.

Five things to take from Clippers’ 116-105 victory over Sacramento Kings

Chris Paul

Chris Paul led the Clippers with 30 points in Wednesday’s 116-105 victory at Sacramento/:Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers, NBA.com

 

– The Clippers received very little from their bench in this victory. Austin Rivers, Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Spencer Hawes all shot 1 of 4 from the field, meaning they were a combined 3 of 12. Nate Robinson was 2 of 3 for four points, but he played only 9 1/2 minutes. Well, when four of your starters each score at least 19 points – Blake Griffin and Hedo Turkoglu had 19 apiece, J.J. Redick scored 27 and Chris Paul 30 – the bench doesn’t need to score much.

– Speaking of Turkoglu, his 19 points were a season-high. He shot very well, making 7 of 12 shots overall, 5 of 10 from 3-point range. He made his second consecutive start in place of Matt Barnes (hamstring). He also played solid defense on Kings forward Rudy Gay, who made just 6 of 19 from the field to get his 23 points. “Tonight he looked like the defender that he was before,” Kings coach George Karl said. “When he was in his prime, his defense was pretty first class. I thought that he did a nice job on Rudy Gay tonight.”

– There is one thing that seems to have gone unnoticed regarding the return of Griffin. Remember how he had taken his game to the outside more than ever this season, thus resulting in his rebounding numbers being down? Well, he had 10 rebounds in this one, meaning he has had 11, 11 and 10 in his three games back. He’s averaging a career-low 7.7 for the season.

– What can we say about Redick? He had himself another fine outing with his 27 points. He shot 9 of 16, 7 of 12 from beyond the arc. Redick is now averaging 15.6 points while shooting 46.6 percent from the field, 42.4 percent (160 of 377) from 3-point range. All of those numbers represent career-highs. Redick is averaging 20.7 points in 10 games this month.

– So, had a few tweets and whatnot about why it was so difficult for the Clippers to put away a lowly team like the Kings, who are now just 22-45. The Clippers led just 87-86 with 8:07 to play. Yes, the Clippers were again without Barnes and Jamal Crawford (calf). But the Kings
were without All-Star post DeMarcus Cousins (calf) and have been without guard Darren Collison (hip) since early February. That said, keep in mind that the Clippers all season have had trouble maintaining focus throughout a given game. That’s still happening. Yet, they are 44-25 and tied for fifth-place in the Western Conference standings. The point being, if the Clippers can figure out their in-game lapses – and we realize that is “if” – they could be tough to deal with in the post-season.

Chris Paul’s 30 points help Clippers put away lowly Kings 116-105 at Sleep Train

Chris Paul

Chris Paul scored 30 points in the Clippers’ victory Wednesday night at Sacramento/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers, NBA.com

 

Once again minus Jamal Crawford (calf) and Matt Barnes (hamstring), it took the Clippers some time to put the lowly Sacramento Kings away. But Chris Paul’s 3-pointer with 3:44 to play was the dagger in their 116-105 victory Wednesday night at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento.

Paul’s basket gave him 30 points on the night, and it gave the Clippers a 13-point lead at 106-93. The Clippers – 44-25 – remained tied with Dallas for fifth-place in the Western Conference standings.

J.J. Redick contributed 27 points for the Clippers, Blake Griffin had 19 points in his third game back. He also had 10 rebounds and five assists. Hedo Turkoglu, starting for Barnes, came through with 19 points on 7 of 12 shooting – 5 of 10 from 3-point range. DeAndre Jordan scored just six points, but he grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked four shots.

The Clippers shot 51.1 percent from the field, 45.9 (17 of 37) from 3-point range.

The Kings (22-45) got 23 points from Rudy Gay and 16 off the bench from Andre Miller. They were without center DeMarcus Cousins (calf) and guard Darren Collison, who has not played since early February because of a hip injury.

Denver Nuggets outscore Clippers 31-20 in first quarter at Staples Center

Chris Paul

Chris Paul/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers, NBA.com

 

The Nuggets led the Clippers by as many as 16 points at 31-15 before settling for a 31-20 lead over the Clippers after one quarter.

Hedo Turkoglu hit a 3-point basket with about 20 seconds left in the quarter and then Austin Rivers made a layup with 0.7 seconds left as the Clippers scored the final five points of the quarter.

Chris Paul led the Clippers (30-14) with six points in the quarter, Wilson Chandler had 13 for Denver (18-26).

Blake Griffin gives kudos to second unit in loss to Sacramento

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Jordan Farmar

Jordan Farmar/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

Coach Doc Rivers said his team’s reserves kind of let the team down in its 118-111 victory over the Lakers on Friday at Staples Center. Were it not for the second unit Sunday, the Clippers likely would have lost to the Sacramento Kings by much more than 98-92. Starting power forward Blake Griffin seems to realize that.

It was early in the second quarter that reserves Jordan Farmar (8), Spencer Hawes (6) and Hedo Turkoglu (3) scored all 17 points during a 17-2 Clippers run.

“I thought that we (the starters) played poorly and the second unit played good,” Griffin said. “The second unit did a good job in the second quarter by putting pressure on them (the Kings). We tried to get back in it in the third quarter, but we could not.”