Blake Griffin's 31 carries Clippers by Pacers
In a tremendous all-around performance, Chris Paul finished with 20 points and recorded nine assists, six rebounds and five steals to help the Los Angeles Clippers pull out the close victory against the Indiana Pacers, 102-100. This is the eighth win for Los Angeles (18-7) in its last 10 games.
Paul went 7-14 from the field (1-3 on 3-pointers) and 5-6 from the free throw line. Other key performers for Los Angeles were Blake Griffin with 31 points and 16 rebounds, and DeAndre Jordan with 15 points and 23 rebounds. Despite the loss, C.J. Miles put up 17 points off the bench for Indiana on 6-14 shooting (2-8 on 3-point attempts), in addition to going 3-5 from the free throw line. Lavoy Allen added 12 points and 14 rebounds, Luis Scola finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, and Solomon Hill put up 10 points and six assists.
Contrary to the yearly numbers, Los Angeles dominated the offensive glass in this matchup, finishing with an OR% of 32.6%. They rank 29th in the NBA in OR% this at 20.7%. The defense of Indiana, however, has been tough on the backboards this season, placing third in the league with a DR% of 78.4%.
This drops Indiana (8-18) to 0-2 versus Los Angeles on the season.
Coming up, the Clippers will battle the Denver Nuggets (10-15) on Friday. The Pacers also match up against the Nuggets in their next game as well, taking place on Saturday. The Pacers are 0-1 versus Denver this season.
