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Clippers 101, Nets 95

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Clippers came from behind in the fourth quarter to take a key victory over visiting Brooklyn with a 101-95 win on Saturday night at Staples Center.

Jamal Crawford leapt into a passing lane, stole a lackadaisical pass from Deron Williams and drove for the slam dunk to put the Clippers ahead by four points with 48 seconds left. After a Joe Johnson layup off the glass, Chris Paul responded with 22 seconds left, dropping a gorgeous hand-switching, one-handed shot while drawing a foul to clinch the comeback win.

After the Clippers took a 25-24 first quarter lead, Brooklyn seized a one-point lead on its first possession of the second quarter and led for much of the second and third quarters. Los Angeles climbed back in the fourth quarter, though, to take its second straight win.

Paul led the way with 29 points, including 12-of-13 from the free-throw line, and had 11 assists. Paul had zero points and six assists in the first quarter before taking over the head-to-head matchup with fellow 2005 top-four pick Deron Williams, scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter alone.

Willie Green, starting in place of Chauncey Billups for the second straight game, had 15 points for the Clippers, including 10 in the first quarter. DeAndre Jordan had 13 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, Jamal Crawford added 13 points off the bench and Blake Griffin had 12.

The Nets also had five players in double-figures, led by Williams and Brook Lopez with 18. Gerald Wallace and Joe Johnson each had 15 points for Brooklyn, which had 27 assists but 15 turnovers.

NOTES: Billups also missed the Clippers' 101-72 win over Philadelphia on March 20 after playing just seven minutes in a 116-101 loss at Sacramento the night before. Green is no stranger to the starting lineup, however, with 51 starts in 70 games. ... Eric Bledsoe was listed as day-to-day with a sore left calf but played early. ... The Clippers entered the game on a nine-game winning streak over Eastern Conference opponents. ... The Nets won the first matchup between the two teams, 86-76, on Nov. 23, 2012, behind a game-high 26 points from Lopez. The Clippers' 76 points and 41 percent shooting marked the second worst game in both categories this season. ... Los Angeles is closing in on several team records in what has become the team's most prolific regular season. While already owning team records for consecutive wins (17), consecutive home wins (13) and wins in a month (16), the Clippers are seeking single-season records for wins, road wins and home wins. ... Los Angeles' second-best start through 69 games was 43 wins in 1974-75. ... The Nets rank fifth in the NBA in scoring defense (94.4 ppg).