Clippers 106, Celtics 77
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Clippers got off to a hot start and never looked back, keeping their winning streak alive with a 106-77 win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday at Staples Center.
Los Angeles has now won a franchise-record 15 straight games -- the longest winning streak in the NBA this season.
Matt Barnes scored a game-high 21 points off the bench and Jamal Crawford added 17. Lamar Odom grabbed 13 rebounds and Chris Paul dished out 11 assists.
Kevin Garnett led five Celtics in double figures with 16 points.
The Clippers led from the get-go thanks to an 18-4 run in the first six minutes. Blake Griffin made a pair of jumpers early, and the rest of the starting five all scored at least one field goal during the run.
Boston regained a little traction near the end of the quarter as Garnett's turnaround jumper beat the buzzer and cut the lead to 10.
Los Angeles' bench held the lead in the second quarter until Crawford got hot late, putting the Clippers up 13. Boston almost got a second buzzer beater, but Jeff Green's three-point shot came just after the buzzer.
As the physicality of the game picked up in the third quarter, the Clippers stretched out their lead to as many as 21. Jared Sullinger was hit with a flagrant foul on Blake Griffin, preventing Griffin from another highlight slam.
The Celtics headed into the fourth quarter down 82-67 as Rajon Rondo hit his second three-point shot of the game with less than two seconds on the clock.
But the Clippers' bench, like it has done often during the team's streak, put the game away in the fourth quarter and kept Griffin (15 points, eight rebounds), Chris Paul (eight points, 11 assists), DeAndre Jordan (seven points, seven rebounds) and Caron Butler (14 points) on the bench.
Los Angeles led by as many as 32 points in the fourth.
NOTES: The Clippers owned the best record in the NBA and the longest winning streak heading into Thursday's game. The winning streak was a franchise record, and the team never previously had the best record in the league this late in the season. ... Prior to the game, Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro praised starting shooting guard Willie Green's professionalism. Green has started and played in 25 games this season, but he didn't play a single second in the three games Chauncey Billups started. ... The Clippers are 9-2 this season on games televised by ESPN, TNT and NBA TV. Thursday's game was on TNT. ... The Celtics, not surprisingly, have dominated the series with the Clippers, going 84-32 before Thursday. ... The Clippers are still without veterans Grant Hill (right knee bone bruise) and Billups (left foot peroneal tendinitis). Hill was on the court practicing jump shots before the game. ... Avery Bradley (shoulder surgeries) and Chris Wilcox (sprained UCL, right thumb) didn't play for Boston.
