Tag Archives: Rudy Gay

Banged up Chris Paul scores 40 to lead Clippers to win at Sacramento

Posted on by
Reply

Chris Paul

Chris Paul/Photo courtesy os Los Angeles Clippers

 

Chris Paul entered the Clippers’ game Friday at Sacramento nursing several minor injuries, then he got poked in the eye by the Kings’ DeMarcus Cousins late in the second quarter.

Battered but unbowed, Paul went on to scored a game-high 40 points on 13 of 20 shooting to lead the Clippers to a 117-107 victory. Paul made 4 of 9 from 3-point range. He also doled out 13 assists, grabbed eight rebounds and made two steals in 36 marvelous minutes. The point guard committed only two turnovers. For good measure, he made all 10 of his free throws.

Recently acquired Jeff Green had his best game as a member of the Clippers (38-20), coming through with 22 points on 9 of 13 shooting – 4 of 5 from 3-point range. He also had five rebounds and started at forward in place of Paul Pierce, who was not with the team because of personal reasons. Green played 31 minutes.

Jamal Crawford contributed 21 points off the bench on 7 of 19 shooting and J.J. Redick scored 16. Wes Johnson struggled again from the field, shooting 2 of 8 while scoring four points. Johnson shot 2 of 11 in Wednesday upset-loss to Denver at Staples Center.

Cousins led the Kings (24-33) with 26 points and 15 rebounds, Rudy Gay scored 23 and Darren Collison had 18 points and five assists.

Collison started in place of point guard Rajon Rondo, who was out with a thumb injury.

Clippers hold off Kings, defeat them 111-104 behind 33 from Griffin

Posted on by
Reply

 

Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

The Sacramento Kings erased all of a 15-point early fourth-quarter deficit to take a 1-point lead on the Clippers, but the Clippers pulled together and came away with a 111-104 victory over the Kings in a season-opener Wednesday at Sacramento.

The Kings took a lead at 93-92 with 6:50 to play, but the Clippers fought back to outscore Sacramento 19-11 down the stretch.

Blake Griffin led all scorers with 33 points on 14 of 20 from the field. He also had eight rebounds and four assists. Chris Paul had 18 points, 11 assists, five rebounds and two steals. J.J. Redick scored 15 points, DeAndre Jordan had eight points, 12 rebounds and four blocks; and Paul Pierce and Jamal Crawford scored 12 and 11 off the bench, respectively. Josh Smith had four blocks and six rebounds.

DeMarcus Cousins had 32 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Kings and Rudy Gay scored 16.

The Clippers shot 52.5 percent from the field

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

Posted on by
Reply

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

Posted on by
Reply

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.