Josh Smith/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers
– On paper it seems like the Clippers should have blown out the Bucks (10-17), especially since the Bucks were without leading scorer and rebounder Greg Monroe. But the Clippers were coming off a five-game road trip and they did not have DeAndre Jordan from mid-third quarter on after he was ejected for arguing a non-calls, receiving two technical fouls. Monroe also missed the game the previous night in a loss to the Lakers. On Saturday, the Bucks handed the Golden State Warriors their first loss of the season in a game at Milwaukee.
– Nice game by Josh Smith. He scored a season-high 13 points on 5 of 9 shooting – 3 of 3 from 3-point range. He had all eight points in a Clippers’ 8-2 run at the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth to extend an eight-point lead to 14 (80-66).
– Paul Pierce scored six points to crack the 26,000-point barrier for his career; he now has 26,004. He is one of 16 players to score at least 26,000. All-time leader Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 38,387.
– Lance Stephenson is becoming a crowd favorite at Staples Center. His endless energy seems to be one reason why. He had four assists in 18-plus minutes in this one and a couple of them were dazzling. When he came off the court after his first stint, he received a larger applause than the stars when they exited.
– The Clippers shot 48 percent overall. Perhaps more importantly, they shot 52.4 percent (11 of 21) from 3-point range. After having struggled so much from beyond the arc, the Clippers have raised their shooting percentage from there to 34.2. Still, that is only 19th in the league. The Clippers in 2014-15 were third at 37.6 percent.
